Just over 2° south preceding the Whirlpool galaxy M51 lies one of the best objects for newcomers to variable star observing who are equipped with only a small pair of binoculars. V CVn is a red semi-regular (Sra) variable star of spectral class M4e-M6e. The classification Sra applies to giant stars of late spectral class whose light curves are similar to those of the long period variables (Mira), but with smaller amplitude. Read more (PDF)