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Uncommon variable star 29 EP

HD 40707

RA 89.2000° · Dec -59.4226° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
29 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Giant star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 29

5 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Giant star · +6
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M4/M5III — 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 9.5 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Pictor.
  • 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 December — 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. ≈ 15.7 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
2.271
bv
1.13
constellation
Pic
dist ly
893.5781
luminosity
10.7547
mag
9.46
name
HD 40707
spect
M4/M5III
var amplitude
0.69
var designation
ZZ
var max
9.16
var min
9.85

About HD 40707

HD 40707 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 893.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pic, shines at apparent magnitude 9.46 and has spectral type M4/M5III.

Its spectrum reads M4/M5III — 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 40707 in the constellation Pic. At apparent magnitude 9.46, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 40707 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 40707 is an uncommon variable star

HD 40707 scores 29 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Giant star, 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.