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Rare variable star 46 EP

HD 246162

RA 85.2603° · Dec 28.1064° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges
46 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Deep red star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 46

4 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M6 — 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.

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 9.3 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 December — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 35.2 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
0.411
bv
1.536
constellation
Tau
dist ly
2000.9569
luminosity
59.6486
mag
9.35
name
HD 246162
spect
M6
var amplitude
0.97
var designation
AB
var max
9.032
var min
10.002

About HD 246162

HD 246162 is a rare variable star. It lies about 2,001 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Tau, shines at apparent magnitude 9.35 and has spectral type M6.

Its spectrum reads M6 — 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 246162 in the constellation Tau. At apparent magnitude 9.35, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 246162 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 246162 is a rare variable star

HD 246162 scores 46 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), On the zodiac, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf, Strongly 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.