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Uncommon star 28 EP

HD 146838

RA 244.9849° · Dec -39.5196° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
28 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Deep red star +8
  • Giant star +6
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 28

6 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Giant star · +6
  • Deep red star · +8

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G6/G8III: — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 8.5 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Scorpius.
  • 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 15 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 1.3 million years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
1.45
bv
1.746
constellation
Sco
dist ly
853.8115
luminosity
22.9087
mag
8.54
name
HD 146838
spect
G6/G8III:

About HD 146838

HD 146838 is an uncommon star. It lies about 853.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Sco, shines at apparent magnitude 8.54 and has spectral type G6/G8III:.

Its spectrum reads G6/G8III: — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 146838 in the constellation Sco. At apparent magnitude 8.54, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 146838 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 HD 146838 is an uncommon star

HD 146838 scores 28 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star, Giant star and Deep red 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.