Common variable star 18 EP

HD 83983

RA 145.5414° · Dec 7.5901° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges

18 pts · Common

Common 22 pts → Uncommon

Variable star +5
Gently variable +4
On the zodiac +3
Orange K-type star +3
A named variable star +3

Total score 18

4 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

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

Trivia

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K0 — 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 8.9 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Leo.
Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
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. ≈ 2.8 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag: 5.455
bv: 0.877
constellation: Leo
dist ly: 160.8265
luminosity: 0.5728
mag: 8.92
name: HD 83983
spect: K0
var amplitude: 0.07
var designation: GT
var max: 8.894
var min: 8.964

Nearby objects

About HD 83983

HD 83983 is a common variable star. It lies about 160.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Leo, shines at apparent magnitude 8.92 and has spectral type K0.

Its spectrum reads K0 — 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 HD 83983 in the constellation Leo. At apparent magnitude 8.92, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 83983 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 83983 is a common variable star

HD 83983 scores 18 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

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