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Uncommon variable star 32 EP

HD 117555

RA 202.6950° · Dec 24.2327° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
32 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Bright giant +12
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 32

2 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Bright giant · +12
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5II — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • Where it is in life. It is a bright giant, well on its way to the largest stars there are.
  • 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 8.2 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Coma Berenices.
  • 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 April — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
2.026
bv
0.87
constellation
Com
dist ly
547.2415
luminosity
13.4772
mag
8.15
name
HD 117555
spect
G5II
var amplitude
0.16
var designation
FK
var max
8.066
var min
8.226

About HD 117555

HD 117555 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 547.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Com, shines at apparent magnitude 8.15 and has spectral type G5II.

Its spectrum reads G5II — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 117555 in the constellation Com. At apparent magnitude 8.15, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 117555 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 117555 is an uncommon variable star

HD 117555 scores 32 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Sun-like G-type star, Bright giant, 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.