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Common variable star 18 EP

HD 217188

RA 344.7205° · Dec -0.3159° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
18 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 18

4 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K0 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • It changes. This star does not hold still: its brightness rises and falls on a rhythm of hours, days or years, either pulsing in size or being eclipsed by a companion.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 7.4 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Pisces.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around September — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 9.9 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.233
bv
1.031
constellation
Psc
dist ly
563.3092
luminosity
27.9769
mag
7.42
name
HD 217188
spect
K0
var amplitude
0.18
var designation
AZ
var max
7.316
var min
7.496

About HD 217188

HD 217188 is a common variable star. It lies about 563.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Psc, shines at apparent magnitude 7.42 and has spectral type K0.

Its spectrum reads K0 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HD 217188 in the constellation Psc. At apparent magnitude 7.42, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 217188 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.

Why HD 217188 is a common variable star

HD 217188 scores 18 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star, Gently variable and A named variable star — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.