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Beta Reticuli — Star in Reticulum

Magnitude 3.9m Star Reticulum (Ret) Visible
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1Physical Properties

Magnitude 3.85
Spectral Type K2III giant
Star Color Orange (B-V 1.13)
Distance 100 ly

2Position & Identifiers

RA 03h 44m 12.0s
Dec -64° 48' 25.0"
Constellation Reticulum (Ret)
HR 1175
HIP 17440
HD 23817
SAO 248877
Bayer Beta
SIMBAD

3How easy to spot?

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Equipment Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
Naked eye Easy Medium+ Medium+
50mm finder Easy Easy Easy
150mm scope Easy Easy Easy
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

4Visibility

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Best season Oct – Dec (peak: Nov)

5Survey Image

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7

Size Comparison

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8

Compare Stars

9

Spectral Classification

10

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

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Read: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram — Reading Stars Like a Map
11

Stellar Lifecycle

12

Blackbody Spectrum

13

Stellar Absorption Spectrum

Simulated absorption spectrum based on spectral type. Hover over lines to identify elements.

14

Stellar Fusion

Discover

15Stellar Notes

1911.5d, K 5.2k/s, V0 +51.1k/s, asini 134. Unresolved by speckle interferometry 1978.96.
16

Light Travel Time Machine

17

Relativistic Travel

Nearby in the Sky

Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.

Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.

NGC 1490
Hard+
Elliptical galaxy
Galaxy mag 12.79 1.6° Reticulum
Gamma Ret
Easy
Cool red giant
Star mag 4.51 3.2° Reticulum
Zeta Ret
HIP 15371; Zeta2 Reticuli
Easy
Easy double, sep 309.1″
Double Star mag 5.24 3.7° Reticulum
Delta Ret
Easy
Cool red giant
Star mag 4.56 3.8° Reticulum
R Dor
Easy
Semi-regular variable, range 4.8–6.6
Variable Star mag 5.40 6.5° Dorado
NGC 1466
Medium
Compact globular cluster
Globular Cluster mag 11.4 6.9° Hydrus
Show on Map

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