← Back to dex
Uncommon variable star 26 EP

HD 121909

RA 209.6036° · Dec -1.6608° · star

Loading sky survey…
🌌 View in 3D star map
Tonight’s visibility

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 6 badges
26 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Variable star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Yellow-white F-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 26

8 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Yellow-white F-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads F8V — an F-type star — a little hotter, whiter and shorter-lived than the 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 9.7 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Virgo.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • 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
2.892
bv
0.65
constellation
Vir
dist ly
732.9348
luminosity
6.0702
mag
9.65
name
HD 121909
spect
F8V
var amplitude
0.55
var designation
BH
var max
9.58
var min
10.13

About HD 121909

HD 121909 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 732.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vir, shines at apparent magnitude 9.65 and has spectral type F8V.

Its spectrum reads F8V — an F-type star — a little hotter, whiter and shorter-lived than the Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 121909 in the constellation Vir. At apparent magnitude 9.65, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 121909 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 121909 is an uncommon variable star

HD 121909 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, Yellow-white F-type star, Main-sequence star, Strongly 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.