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Common variable star 17 EP

GL Gl 612

RA 241.6232° · Dec 38.6322° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
17 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 17

5 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K3V — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
  • 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 8.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Corona Borealis.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north 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
6.724
bv
0.963
constellation
CrB
dist ly
76.6525
luminosity
0.178
mag
8.58
name
GL Gl 612
spect
K3V
var amplitude
0.07
var designation
AT
var max
8.544
var min
8.614

About GL Gl 612

GL Gl 612 is a common variable star. It lies about 76.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CrB, shines at apparent magnitude 8.58 and has spectral type K3V.

Its spectrum reads K3V — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 612 in the constellation CrB. At apparent magnitude 8.58, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 612 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 612 is a common variable star

GL Gl 612 scores 17 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Orange K-type star, Main-sequence star, Gently variable and A named variable star — 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.