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Uncommon variable star 26 EP

HD 51122

RA 103.3039° · Dec -52.4102° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
26 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Giant star +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
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Giant star · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G6/G8III — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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 8.9 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Carina.
  • 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 January — 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. ≈ 17.5 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.509
bv
1.043
constellation
Car
dist ly
994.3779
luminosity
21.697
mag
8.93
name
HD 51122
spect
G6/G8III
var amplitude
0.19
var designation
V449
var max
8.838
var min
9.028

About HD 51122

HD 51122 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 994.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Car, shines at apparent magnitude 8.93 and has spectral type G6/G8III.

Its spectrum reads G6/G8III — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 51122 in the constellation Car. At apparent magnitude 8.93, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 51122 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 51122 is an uncommon variable star

HD 51122 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, Sun-like G-type star, Giant 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.