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Uncommon variable star 22 EP

HD 115496

RA 199.6850° · Dec -58.2670° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
22 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 22

12 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • 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 G2V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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 8.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
3.751
bv
0.654
constellation
Cen
dist ly
304.2501
luminosity
2.7517
mag
8.6
name
HD 115496
spect
G2V
var amplitude
0.1
var designation
V963
var max
8.556
var min
8.656

About HD 115496

HD 115496 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 304.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen, shines at apparent magnitude 8.6 and has spectral type G2V.

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

How to see it

Look for HD 115496 in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 8.6, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 115496 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 115496 is an uncommon variable star

HD 115496 scores 22 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, 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.