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Uncommon variable star 28 EP

HD 113840

RA 196.8034° · Dec -54.3332° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
28 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 28

6 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G1/G2V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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 9.1 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 April — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 40.4 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
-0.159
bv
0.673
constellation
Cen
dist ly
2296.8734
luminosity
100.8324
mag
9.08
name
HD 113840
spect
G1/G2V
var amplitude
0.21
var designation
V949
var max
9.047
var min
9.257

About HD 113840

HD 113840 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 2,296.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen, shines at apparent magnitude 9.08 and has spectral type G1/G2V.

Its spectrum reads G1/G2V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 113840 in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 9.08, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 113840 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 113840 is an uncommon variable star

HD 113840 scores 28 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Sun-like G-type star, Main-sequence 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.