Mira

Mira is a star located approximately 390 light-years away from Earth, and it's famous for being a Mira variable star. This means its brightness varies over time in a predictable cycle, becoming brighter and dimmer over roughly 11 months. Mira is in the late stages of stellar evolution, having exhausted much of its fuel, and it's a red giant with a large, cool, and luminous atmosphere. Its changes in brightness occur because of pulsations in its outer layers, which cause the star to expand and contract. Mira provides valuable insights into the life cycles of stars similar to our Sun.