Uncommon variable star 29 EP

HD 57160

RA 110.2459° · Dec 24.9995° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges

29 pts · Uncommon

Uncommon 34 pts → Rare

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 29

5 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

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

Trivia

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads N0v — 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 8.4 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 January — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Properties

absmag: -1.098
bv: 2.322
constellation: Gem
dist ly: 2588.5397
luminosity: 239.4418
mag: 8.4
name: HD 57160
spect: N0v
var amplitude: 0.35
var designation: BM
var max: 8.173
var min: 8.523

Nearby objects

About HD 57160

HD 57160 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 2,588.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Gem, shines at apparent magnitude 8.4 and has spectral type N0v.

Its spectrum reads N0v — a carbon star, wrapped in so much soot that its light is filtered to a deep ruby red.

How to see it

Look for HD 57160 in the constellation Gem. At apparent magnitude 8.4, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 57160 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 57160 is an uncommon variable star

HD 57160 scores 29 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), On the zodiac, 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.