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Uncommon variable star 31 EP

HIP 57589

RA 177.1010° · Dec -37.4803° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
31 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 31

3 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads Mp — 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 11.1 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Centaurus.
  • 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 March — 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. ≈ 2.7 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
7.78
bv
1.663
constellation
Cen
dist ly
152.552
luminosity
0.0673
mag
11.13
name
HIP 57589
spect
Mp
var amplitude
0.19
var designation
V1239
var max
11.049
var min
11.239

About HIP 57589

HIP 57589 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 152.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen, shines at apparent magnitude 11.13 and has spectral type Mp.

Its spectrum reads Mp — 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 HIP 57589 in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 11.13, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 57589 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 57589 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 57589 scores 31 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf, 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.