hip-82172

Its story

About 755 light years away, in the vast constellation of Hercules, a variable red M-type giant alternates its brightness in slow cycles. Its light began its journey around 1271, in the heart of the Middle Ages, when Marco Polo was setting out on his famous journey to the court of the Great Khan. Cooler than the Sun and far larger in diameter, it embodies that late stage in which stars pulse in time with their internal evolution. The celestial demigod, with his network of faint jewels, offers it a sky steeped in ancient mythology.