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Uncommon star 22 EP

GL Gl 599A

RA 236.8715° · Dec -37.9163° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
22 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
Total score 22

12 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Not one star but two. It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G6IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • Where it is in life. It is a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.

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 6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Lupus.
  • 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 May — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
5.079
binary
yes
bv
0.715
constellation
Lup
dist ly
50.0777
luminosity
0.8098
mag
6.01
name
GL Gl 599A
spect
G6IV

About GL Gl 599A

GL Gl 599A is an uncommon star. It lies about 50.1 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Lup, shines at apparent magnitude 6.01 and has spectral type G6IV.

It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 599A in the constellation Lup. At apparent magnitude 6.01, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 599A 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 599A is an uncommon star

GL Gl 599A scores 22 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Binary star, Sun-like G-type star and Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) — 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.