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Rare variable star 39 EP

HD 299011

RA 153.8118° · Dec -54.4783° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
39 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) +20
  • Giant star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 39

11 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Giant star · +6
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) · +20
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M5-M8IIIe — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 10.9 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Vela.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south 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. ≈ 17 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
3.568
bv
0.991
constellation
Vel
dist ly
967.8219
luminosity
3.2569
mag
10.93
name
HD 299011
spect
M5-M8IIIe
var amplitude
3.16
var designation
W
var max
8.957
var min
12.117

About HD 299011

HD 299011 is a rare variable star. It lies about 967.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vel, shines at apparent magnitude 10.93 and has spectral type M5-M8IIIe.

Its spectrum reads M5-M8IIIe — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for HD 299011 in the constellation Vel. At apparent magnitude 10.93, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 299011 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 299011 is a rare variable star

HD 299011 scores 39 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Giant star, Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) 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.