Mu-1

Its story

Mu-1 Cancri is a variable red giant at 745 light-years, anchored in the modest zodiacal constellation of the Crab. Its coppery brightness and slow undulations are the unmistakable signature of an aged star, its vast atmosphere breathing across timescales of months and years. The light arriving in our skies tonight first set out when Marco Polo was still travelling the long caravan routes of Asia.