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Uncommon star 24 EP

HIP 21709

RA 69.9257° · Dec -11.4462° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
24 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 24

10 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6

Trivia

Hard to believe

  • True brightness. It pours out about 1.1 million times as much light as the Sun. It only looks ordinary because it is so far away.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M2V — 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.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 9.7 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Eridanus.
  • 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 November — that's when to go looking.

Its true colour

  • Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out deep orange-red (B−V 1.6) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

By the numbers

  • Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 3680 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.

Properties

absmag
-10.28
bv
1.575
constellation
Eri
luminosity
1127197.4562
mag
9.72
name
HIP 21709
spect
M2V

About HIP 21709

HIP 21709 is an uncommon star. It sits in the constellation Eri, shines at apparent magnitude 9.72 and has spectral type M2V.

Its spectrum reads M2V — 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 HIP 21709 in the constellation Eri. At apparent magnitude 9.72, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 21709 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 HIP 21709 is an uncommon star

HIP 21709 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, 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.