Hind's Crimson Star (R Leporis)
Hind's Crimson Star (R Leporis) is a star in the constellation Lepus, magnitude 8.0.
‘Like a drop of blood on a black field’ — one of the reddest stars in the sky, at its reddest when faintest.
In 1845 the British astronomer John Russell Hind turned his telescope on a star in Lepus and found it glowing ‘like a drop of blood on a black field’. It has carried his name ever since: Hind’s Crimson Star, or R Leporis.
Its colour comes from carbon. R Leporis is a carbon star, a cool giant whose atmosphere is so rich in carbon that it filters out the blue part of the star’s light. The effect is strongest when the star is dimmest. It pulsates as a Mira-type variable star, swinging between about magnitude 5.5 and 11.7 over roughly 427 days, and is reddest near minimum.
From its pulsation period, astronomers estimate it shines about 13,200 times as brightly as the Sun. There may also be a much slower cycle, about 40 years long, on top of its usual rhythm.
Hind's Crimson Star (R Leporis) is 1,500 light-years away: the light we see from it set off around AD 530, around the time the Hagia Sophia was completed in Constantinople.
Did you know?
- Reddest of all?. At its dimmest, R Leporis is a candidate for the reddest star visible — though that claim is questioned, and near maximum its colour is far less striking.
- Hind’s other red star. In 1848, three years after describing R Leporis, John Russell Hind discovered that the Garnet Star in Cepheus varies in brightness.
A deep red carbon star in Lepus, near the border with Eridanus, at the western corner of a small triangle with Mu and Kappa Leporis. Find it near maximum in binoculars, then follow it with a telescope as it fades — and grows redder.
When and where to see it
It is best placed in the evening sky around January, when it crosses the meridian at about 10 pm local time (around midnight in December). It can be seen from everywhere south of 75°N and never sets south of 75°S.
At its highest it stands 25° up from 50°N, 40° up from 35°N, 75° up from the equator, 70° up from 35°S.
Facts
- Type
- Star
- Constellation
- Lepus
- Designations
- R Leporis, R Lep, HR 1607, HD 31996, HIP 23203
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Position
- RA 4h 59.6m, Dec −14° 48′ (J2000)
- Spectral type
- C7,6e
- Colour
- deep red (B−V 5.75)
- Brightness
- varies from magnitude 5.5 to 11.7
- Distance
- 1,500 light-years
- Discovered
- John Russell Hind, 1845, Named after Hind, who described its colour in 1845
Open AstroPilot to see when Hind's Crimson Star (R Leporis) is highest tonight from your location, how easy it is with your telescope or binoculars, and an eyepiece view.