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Uncommon variable star 23 EP

HIP 60438

RA 185.8677° · Dec -23.1614° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
23 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 23

11 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K4.5 — 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 10.8 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Corvus.
  • 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. ≈ 2.6 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
7.583
bv
1.527
constellation
Crv
dist ly
146.1926
luminosity
0.0807
mag
10.84
name
HIP 60438
spect
K4.5
var amplitude
0.2
var designation
UY
var max
10.772
var min
10.972

About HIP 60438

HIP 60438 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 146.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Crv, shines at apparent magnitude 10.84 and has spectral type K4.5.

Its spectrum reads K4.5 — 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 HIP 60438 in the constellation Crv. At apparent magnitude 10.84, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 60438 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 60438 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 60438 scores 23 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Orange K-type star, Deep red 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.