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Iota Reticuli — Star in Reticulum

Magnitude 5.0m Star Reticulum (Ret) Visible
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Observe

1Physical Properties

Magnitude 4.97
Spectral Type K4III giant
Star Color Red (B-V 1.42)
Distance 233 ly

2Position & Identifiers

RA 04h 01m 18.2s
Dec -61° 04' 44.0"
Constellation Reticulum (Ret)
HR 1266
HIP 18772
HD 25728
SAO 248927
Bayer Iota
SIMBAD

3How easy to spot?

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Equipment Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
Naked eye Medium Medium Hard+
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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Explore

6

Size Comparison

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7

Compare Stars

8

Spectral Classification

9

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

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Read: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram — Reading Stars Like a Map
10

Stellar Lifecycle

11

Blackbody Spectrum

12

Stellar Absorption Spectrum

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

13

Stellar Fusion

Discover

14Stellar Notes

Zeta Her group.
15

Light Travel Time Machine

16

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.

Delta Ret
Easy
Cool red giant
Star mag 4.56 0.4° Reticulum
Gamma Ret
Easy
Cool red giant
Star mag 4.51 1.1° Reticulum
NGC 1534
Hard
Bright spiral galaxy
Galaxy mag 12.92 1.9° Reticulum
R Dor
Easy
Semi-regular variable, range 4.8–6.6
Variable Star mag 5.40 4.3° Dorado
NGC 1787
Medium+
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 10.92 7.9° Dorado
Show on Map

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