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Uncommon variable star 23 EP

HD 252369

RA 92.3860° · Dec 28.6657° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
23 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 23

11 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K7 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • 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 7.9 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Auriga.
  • 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 13.9 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.014
bv
1.708
constellation
Aur
dist ly
791.6406
luminosity
34.2295
mag
7.94
name
HD 252369
spect
K7
var amplitude
0.16
var designation
V450
var max
7.839
var min
7.999

About HD 252369

HD 252369 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 791.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aur, shines at apparent magnitude 7.94 and has spectral type K7.

Its spectrum reads K7 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HD 252369 in the constellation Aur. At apparent magnitude 7.94, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 252369 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 252369 is an uncommon variable star

HD 252369 scores 23 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Orange K-type star, Deep red star, Gently 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.