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Rare variable star 38 EP

HD 220515

RA 351.1013° · Dec -17.3191° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
38 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Giant star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 38

12 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Giant star · +6
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M4/M5III — 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 9.2 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Aquarius.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south 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. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 24.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.065
bv
1.205
constellation
Aqr
dist ly
1382.0169
luminosity
32.6588
mag
9.2
name
HD 220515
spect
M4/M5III
var amplitude
0.76
var designation
RU
var max
8.695
var min
9.455

About HD 220515

HD 220515 is a rare variable star. It lies about 1,382 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 9.2 and has spectral type M4/M5III.

Its spectrum reads M4/M5III — 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 220515 in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 9.2, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 220515 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 220515 is a rare variable star

HD 220515 scores 38 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), On the zodiac, Cool red M-type star, Giant star, Strongly 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.