Uncommon variable star 29 EP

HD 82159

RA 142.6493° · Dec 10.6017° · star

Loading sky survey…

🌌 View in 3D star map

Tonight’s visibility

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 5 badges

29 pts · Uncommon

Uncommon 34 pts → Rare

Strongly variable +10
Sun-like G-type 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
Sun-like G-type star · +8
Strongly variable · +10
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. Inside our stellar backyard: every radio broadcast humanity has ever made has already swept past it.

Find it in the sky

How to spot it. At magnitude 8.7 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Leo.
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.

Could we get there?

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

Getting there

Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 1.1 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag: 7.281
bv: 0.905
constellation: Leo
dist ly: 61.5505
luminosity: 0.1066
mag: 8.66
name: HD 82159
spect: G5
var amplitude: 0.52
var designation: GS
var max: 8.556
var min: 9.076

Nearby objects

About HD 82159

HD 82159 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 61.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Leo, shines at apparent magnitude 8.66 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 82159 in the constellation Leo. At apparent magnitude 8.66, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 82159 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 82159 is an uncommon variable star

HD 82159 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, Sun-like G-type 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.