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Uncommon variable star 23 EP

HD 72146

RA 128.0723° · Dec 29.3193° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
23 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 23

11 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

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

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5 — 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 7.3 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Cancer.
  • 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 9.8 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.175
bv
0.955
constellation
Cnc
dist ly
560.4055
luminosity
29.5121
mag
7.35
name
HD 72146
spect
G5
var amplitude
0.09
var designation
FI
var max
7.311
var min
7.401

About HD 72146

HD 72146 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 560.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cnc, shines at apparent magnitude 7.35 and has spectral type G5.

Its spectrum reads G5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 72146 in the constellation Cnc. At apparent magnitude 7.35, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 72146 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 72146 is an uncommon variable star

HD 72146 scores 23 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, 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.