Uncommon variable star 29 EP

HIP 43905

RA 134.1672° · Dec 19.8491° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges

29 pts · Uncommon

Uncommon 34 pts → Rare

Strongly variable +10
Deep red star +8
Variable star +5
On the zodiac +3
A named variable star +3

Total score 29

5 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

Variable star · +5
On the zodiac · +3
Deep red star · +8
Strongly variable · +10
A named variable star · +3

Trivia

Hard to believe

True brightness. It pours out about 1.7 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 R6v — 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.

Find it in the sky

How to spot it. At magnitude 9.3 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 February — 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 5.3) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

Properties

absmag: -10.73
bv: 5.3
constellation: Cnc
luminosity: 1706082.389
mag: 9.27
name: HIP 43905
spect: R6v
var amplitude: 0.63
var designation: T
var max: 8.727
var min: 9.357

Nearby objects

About HIP 43905

HIP 43905 is an uncommon variable star. It sits in the constellation Cnc, shines at apparent magnitude 9.27 and has spectral type R6v.

Its spectrum reads R6v — a carbon star, wrapped in so much soot that its light is filtered to a deep ruby red.

How to see it

Look for HIP 43905 in the constellation Cnc. At apparent magnitude 9.27, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 43905 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 43905 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 43905 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 5 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, 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.