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Epic variable star 59 EP

HR 2063

RA 88.9549° · Dec 20.1752° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges
59 pts · Epic
Epic 78 pts → Anomaly
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) +20
  • Deep red star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • 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 59

19 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • 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

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M6e-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.

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 10.6 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Orion.
  • 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. ≈ 25 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
2.419
bv
1.5
constellation
Ori
dist ly
1424.2619
luminosity
9.3843
mag
10.62
name
HR 2063
spect
M6e-M9.5e
var amplitude
3.43
var designation
U
var max
7.468
var min
10.898

About HR 2063

HR 2063 is an epic variable star. It lies about 1,424.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ori, shines at apparent magnitude 10.62 and has spectral type M6e-M9.5e.

Its spectrum reads M6e-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 HR 2063 in the constellation Ori. At apparent magnitude 10.62, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HR 2063 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 HR 2063 is an epic variable star

HR 2063 scores 59 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 19 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), 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.