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Uncommon variable star 29 EP

HIP 57731

RA 177.5791° · Dec 37.6809° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
29 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 29

5 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) · +4
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M0V — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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.

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 11.3 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Ursa Major.
  • 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 March — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
7.271
bv
1.369
constellation
UMa
dist ly
207.6104
luminosity
0.1075
mag
11.29
name
HIP 57731
spect
M0V
var amplitude
0.29
var designation
HU
var max
11.085
var min
11.375

About HIP 57731

HIP 57731 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 207.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation UMa, shines at apparent magnitude 11.29 and has spectral type M0V.

Its spectrum reads M0V — 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 57731 in the constellation UMa. At apparent magnitude 11.29, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 57731 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 57731 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 57731 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 7 science badges — Variable star, Never sets (northern circumpolar), Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence 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.