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Epic variable star 53 EP

HD 36090

RA 82.2537° · Dec -4.6924° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
53 pts · Epic
Epic 78 pts → Anomaly
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) +20
  • Deep red star +8
  • In Orion's hunting ground +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 53

25 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • In Orion's hunting ground · +6
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) · +20
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

Hard to believe

  • True brightness. It pours out about 293.8 thousand 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 M6.5-M9.5e — 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.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 11.2 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Orion.
  • 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 December — 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 1.5) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

By the numbers

  • Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 3790 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.

Properties

absmag
-8.84
bv
1.5
constellation
Ori
luminosity
299226.4637
mag
11.16
name
HD 36090
spect
M6.5-M9.5e
var amplitude
3.3
var designation
S
var max
8.664
var min
11.964

About HD 36090

HD 36090 is an epic variable star. It sits in the constellation Ori, shines at apparent magnitude 11.16 and has spectral type M6.5-M9.5e.

Its spectrum reads M6.5-M9.5e — 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 36090 in the constellation Ori. At apparent magnitude 11.16, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 36090 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 36090 is an epic variable star

HD 36090 scores 53 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 25 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, In Orion's hunting ground, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf, Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) 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.