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Rare variable star 49 EP

16Omi1CMa

RA 103.5331° · Dec -24.1842° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
49 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Supergiant +18
  • Naked-eye visible +8
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 49

1 more point to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Naked-eye visible · +8
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Supergiant · +18
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K3Iab — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • Where it is in life. It is a supergiant. Drop it where the Sun is and its surface would engulf the inner planets.
  • 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 3.9 you can see it with your own eyes from a dark site, over in Canis Major.
  • 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.

Its true colour

  • Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out deep orange-red (B−V 1.7) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

By the numbers

  • Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 3460 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.

Properties

absmag
-16.11
bv
1.74
constellation
CMa
luminosity
242102904.6736
mag
3.89
name
16Omi1CMa
spect
K3Iab
var amplitude
0.26
var designation
Omi-1
var max
3.826
var min
4.086

About 16Omi1CMa

16Omi1CMa is a rare variable star. It sits in the constellation CMa, shines at apparent magnitude 3.89 and has spectral type K3Iab.

Its spectrum reads K3Iab — 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 16Omi1CMa in the constellation CMa. At apparent magnitude 3.89, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.

Like any astronomical target, 16Omi1CMa 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 16Omi1CMa is a rare variable star

16Omi1CMa scores 49 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Naked-eye visible, Orange K-type star, Supergiant, 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.