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Common variable star 19 EP

GL Gl 649.1A

RA 254.4718° · Dec 47.3667° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Binary star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) +2
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Binary star · +6
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) · +2
  • A named variable star · +3

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 K0 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • 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 7.8 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Hercules.
  • 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 June — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
6.447
binary
yes
bv
0.98
constellation
Her
dist ly
59.7029
luminosity
0.2297
mag
7.76
name
GL Gl 649.1A
spect
K0
var amplitude
0.05
var designation
V1090
var max
7.732
var min
7.782

About GL Gl 649.1A

GL Gl 649.1A is a common variable star. It lies about 59.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Her, shines at apparent magnitude 7.76 and has spectral type K0.

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 649.1A in the constellation Her. At apparent magnitude 7.76, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 649.1A 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 649.1A is a common variable star

GL Gl 649.1A scores 19 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Binary star, Orange K-type star, Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) 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.