About HD 46703
HD 46703 is a common variable star. It sits in the constellation Aur, shines at apparent magnitude 9.07 and has spectral type F7IVwe.
Its spectrum reads F7IVwe — an F-type star — a little hotter, whiter and shorter-lived than the Sun.
Common variable star 20 EP
HD 46703
RA 99.4684° · Dec 53.5172° · star
Score breakdown
· 5 badgesCommon 22 pts → Uncommon
- Variable star +5
- Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
- Gently variable +4
- Yellow-white F-type star +3
- A named variable star +3
Total score 20
2 more points to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Variable star · +5
- Yellow-white F-type star · +3
- Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5
- Gently variable · +4
- A named variable star · +3
Trivia
Hard to believe
- True brightness. It pours out about 2 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 F7IVwe — an F-type star — a little hotter, whiter and shorter-lived than the Sun.
- Where it is in life. It is a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.
- 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 9.1 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out yellow-white (B−V 0.5) — a shade brighter and crisper than our own Sun.
Properties
- absmag
- -10.93
- bv
- 0.464
- constellation
- Aur
- luminosity
- 2051162.1788
- mag
- 9.07
- name
- HD 46703
- spect
- F7IVwe
- var amplitude
- 0.17
- var designation
- V382
- var max
- 8.952
- var min
- 9.122
How to see it
Look for HD 46703 in the constellation Aur. At apparent magnitude 9.07, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, HD 46703 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 46703 is a common variable star
HD 46703 scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Yellow-white F-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), 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.