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Common variable star 20 EP

HD 51081

RA 103.9070° · Dec -9.4897° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G0 — 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 8.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Monoceros.
  • 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 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. ≈ 4.4 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
4.225
bv
0.555
constellation
Mon
dist ly
249.1643
luminosity
1.7783
mag
8.64
name
HD 51081
spect
G0
var amplitude
0.35
var designation
V880
var max
8.484
var min
8.834

About HD 51081

HD 51081 is a common variable star. It lies about 249.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Mon, shines at apparent magnitude 8.64 and has spectral type G0.

Its spectrum reads G0 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 51081 in the constellation Mon. At apparent magnitude 8.64, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 51081 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 51081 is a common variable star

HD 51081 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 4 science badges — Variable star, Sun-like G-type 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.