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Rare variable star 39 EP

HD 218292

RA 346.6632° · Dec 10.5434° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
39 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) +20
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 39

11 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) · +20
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M6e-M9e — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 8.5 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Pegasus.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
  • 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. ≈ 16.5 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.238
bv
1.01
constellation
Peg
dist ly
937.2298
luminosity
27.8484
mag
8.53
name
HD 218292
spect
M6e-M9e
var amplitude
4.2
var designation
R
var max
6.072
var min
10.272

About HD 218292

HD 218292 is a rare variable star. It lies about 937.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Peg, shines at apparent magnitude 8.53 and has spectral type M6e-M9e.

Its spectrum reads M6e-M9e — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for HD 218292 in the constellation Peg. At apparent magnitude 8.53, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 218292 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 218292 is a rare variable star

HD 218292 scores 39 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Red dwarf, Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) 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.