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Common variable star 18 EP

HD 286839

RA 68.1069° · Dec 13.1132° · 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 11 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Taurus.
  • 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 November — 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. ≈ 3.2 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
7.246
bv
1.194
constellation
Tau
dist ly
183.7498
luminosity
0.1101
mag
11
name
HD 286839
spect
K0
var amplitude
0.22
var designation
V1147
var max
10.871
var min
11.091

About HD 286839

HD 286839 is a common variable star. It lies about 183.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Tau, shines at apparent magnitude 11 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 286839 in the constellation Tau. At apparent magnitude 11, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 286839 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 286839 is a common variable star

HD 286839 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.