Uncommon variable star 26 EP

HIP 29896

RA 94.4254° · Dec 8.5198° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges

26 pts · Uncommon

Uncommon 34 pts → Rare

Deep red star +8
In Orion's hunting ground +6
Variable star +5
Gently variable +4
A named variable star +3

Total score 26

8 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

Variable star · +5
In Orion's hunting ground · +6
Deep red star · +8
Gently variable · +4
A named variable star · +3

Trivia

Hard to believe

True brightness. It pours out about 1.6 million 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 N0v — a carbon star, wrapped in so much soot that its light is filtered to a deep ruby red.
Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
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 9.3 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 2) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

Properties

absmag: -10.66
bv: 2
constellation: Ori
luminosity: 1599558.0286
mag: 9.34
name: HIP 29896
spect: N0v
var amplitude: 0.29
var designation: GK
var max: 9.119
var min: 9.409

Nearby objects

About HIP 29896

HIP 29896 is an uncommon variable star. It sits in the constellation Ori, shines at apparent magnitude 9.34 and has spectral type N0v.

Its spectrum reads N0v — a carbon star, wrapped in so much soot that its light is filtered to a deep ruby red.

How to see it

Look for HIP 29896 in the constellation Ori. At apparent magnitude 9.34, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 29896 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 HIP 29896 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 29896 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, In Orion's hunting ground, 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.