Epic variable star 53 EP

HIP 31349

RA 98.5996° · Dec 16.0751° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges

53 pts · Epic

Epic 78 pts → Anomaly

Carbon star (sooty red) +24
Deep red star +8
Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
Variable star +5
Gently variable +4
On the zodiac +3
A named variable star +3

Total score 53

25 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

Variable star · +5
Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
On the zodiac · +3
Carbon star (sooty red) · +24
Deep red star · +8
Gently variable · +4
A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads C8.3v — 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.

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 8.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Gemini.
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.

Properties

absmag: 0.914
bv: 3
constellation: Gem
dist ly: 1144.407
luminosity: 37.5319
mag: 8.64
name: HIP 31349
spect: C8.3v
var amplitude: 0.48
var designation: CR
var max: 8.506
var min: 8.986

Nearby objects

About HIP 31349

HIP 31349 is an epic variable star. It lies about 1,144.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Gem, shines at apparent magnitude 8.64 and has spectral type C8.3v.

Its spectrum reads C8.3v — 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 31349 in the constellation Gem. At apparent magnitude 8.64, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 31349 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 31349 is an epic variable star

HIP 31349 scores 53 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 25 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), On the zodiac, Carbon star (sooty red), 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.