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Rare variable star 39 EP

HIP 39967

RA 122.4159° · Dec -38.1746° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
39 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) +20
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 39

11 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) · +20
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M7e-M9 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 9.2 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.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 16.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.903
bv
1.163
constellation
Pup
dist ly
926.5795
luminosity
15.0938
mag
9.17
name
HIP 39967
spect
M7e-M9
var amplitude
2.57
var designation
AS
var max
7.812
var min
10.382

About HIP 39967

HIP 39967 is a rare variable star. It lies about 926.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pup, shines at apparent magnitude 9.17 and has spectral type M7e-M9.

Its spectrum reads M7e-M9 — 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 39967 in the constellation Pup. At apparent magnitude 9.17, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 39967 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 39967 is a rare variable star

HIP 39967 scores 39 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Red dwarf, Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) 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.