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Epic variable star 52 EP

GL Gl 555

RA 218.5701° · Dec -12.5196° · star

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Score breakdown

· 9 badges
52 pts · Epic
Epic 78 pts → Anomaly
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 52

26 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Nearby (<25 ly) · +12
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M4 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • It changes. This star does not hold still: its brightness rises and falls on a rhythm of hours, days or years, either pulsing in size or being eclipsed by a companion.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Inside our stellar backyard: every radio broadcast humanity has ever made has already swept past it.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 11.3 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Libra.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around April — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 347.4 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
12.407
bv
1.633
constellation
Lib
dist ly
19.7683
luminosity
0.0009
mag
11.32
name
GL Gl 555
spect
M4
var amplitude
0.22
var designation
HN
var max
11.177
var min
11.397

About GL Gl 555

GL Gl 555 is an epic variable star. It lies about 19.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Lib, shines at apparent magnitude 11.32 and has spectral type M4.

Its spectrum reads M4 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 555 in the constellation Lib. At apparent magnitude 11.32, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 555 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.

Why GL Gl 555 is an epic variable star

GL Gl 555 scores 52 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 26 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 9 science badges — Variable star, Nearby (<25 ly), On the zodiac, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf, Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) and Gently variable — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.