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Epic variable star 59 EP

Groombridge 34

RA 4.5926° · Dec 44.0230° · star

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Score breakdown

· 10 badges
59 pts · Epic
Epic 78 pts → Anomaly
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Has a proper name +8
  • Deep red star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 59

19 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Nearby (<25 ly) · +12
  • Binary star · +6
  • Has a proper name · +8
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Not one star but two. It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M1V — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
  • 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. Inside our stellar backyard: every radio broadcast humanity has ever made has already swept past it.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 8.1 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Andromeda.
  • 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.

Properties

absmag
10.316
binary
yes
bv
1.56
constellation
And
dist ly
11.7002
luminosity
0.0065
mag
8.09
name
Groombridge 34
named
yes
spect
M1V
var amplitude
0.06
var designation
GX
var max
8.065
var min
8.125

Nearby objects

About Groombridge 34

Groombridge 34 is an epic variable star. It lies about 11.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation And, shines at apparent magnitude 8.09 and has spectral type M1V.

It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

How to see it

Look for Groombridge 34 in the constellation And. At apparent magnitude 8.09, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, Groombridge 34 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 Groombridge 34 is an epic variable star

Groombridge 34 scores 59 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 19 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 10 science badges — Variable star, Nearby (<25 ly), Binary star, Has a proper name, Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star, Deep red star and Red dwarf — 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.