← Back to dex
Rare variable star 49 EP

HIP 37433

RA 115.2610° · Dec -31.6831° · star

Loading sky survey…
🌌 View in 3D star map
Tonight’s visibility

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 6 badges
49 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Supergiant +18
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 49

1 more point to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Supergiant · +18
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

Hard to believe

  • True brightness. It pours out about 1.9 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 M3Ia0-Ia — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • Where it is in life. It is a luminous supergiant — among the largest and rarest stars in the galaxy.
  • 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 Puppis.
  • 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 2) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

Properties

absmag
-10.87
bv
2.012
constellation
Pup
luminosity
1940885.8776
mag
9.13
name
HIP 37433
spect
M3Ia0-Ia
var amplitude
0.64
var designation
V384
var max
8.907
var min
9.547

About HIP 37433

HIP 37433 is a rare variable star. It sits in the constellation Pup, shines at apparent magnitude 9.13 and has spectral type M3Ia0-Ia.

Its spectrum reads M3Ia0-Ia — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for HIP 37433 in the constellation Pup. At apparent magnitude 9.13, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 37433 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 HIP 37433 is a rare variable star

HIP 37433 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 6 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Supergiant, Deep red star, Strongly 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.