Common variable star 18 EP

HD 2623

RA 7.4757° · Dec 8.8063° · 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 K2 — 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.

Find it in the sky

How to spot it. At magnitude 7.9 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.

Its true colour

Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out orange (B−V 1.2) — cooler than the Sun, and the kind of star that burns steadily for tens of billions of years.

By the numbers

Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 4250 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.

What's in a name

Its catalogue. The HD number is from the Henry Draper Catalogue, in which Annie Jump Cannon personally classified the spectra of nearly 400,000 stars — still the largest such feat by one person.

Properties

absmag: -12.07
bv: 1.232
constellation: Psc
luminosity: 5861381.6451
mag: 7.93
name: HD 2623
spect: K2
var amplitude: 0.14
var designation: CH
var max: 7.862
var min: 8.002

Nearby objects

About HD 2623

HD 2623 is a common variable star. It sits in the constellation Psc, shines at apparent magnitude 7.93 and has spectral type K2.

Its spectrum reads K2 — 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 2623 in the constellation Psc. At apparent magnitude 7.93, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 2623 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 2623 is a common variable star

HD 2623 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.