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Uncommon variable star 26 EP

HIP 41889

RA 128.1272° · Dec 15.8239° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
26 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 26

8 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K8 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • 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 10.4 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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. ≈ 2 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
7.738
bv
1.616
constellation
Cnc
dist ly
111.6592
luminosity
0.07
mag
10.41
name
HIP 41889
spect
K8
var amplitude
0.19
var designation
FR
var max
10.29
var min
10.48

About HIP 41889

HIP 41889 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 111.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cnc, shines at apparent magnitude 10.41 and has spectral type K8.

Its spectrum reads K8 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HIP 41889 in the constellation Cnc. At apparent magnitude 10.41, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 41889 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 41889 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 41889 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star, 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.