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Trash star 11 EP

HD 163609

RA 269.0367° · Dec 21.4950° · star

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Score breakdown

· 2 badges
11 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Star +3
Total score 11

4 more points to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5 — 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 8.2 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 2.7 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 241.2 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
4.832
bv
0.65
constellation
Her
dist ly
154.503
luminosity
1.0167
mag
8.21
name
HD 163609
spect
G5

Nearby objects

About HD 163609

HD 163609 is a trash star. It lies about 154.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Her, shines at apparent magnitude 8.21 and has spectral type G5.

Its spectrum reads G5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 163609 in the constellation Her. At apparent magnitude 8.21, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 163609 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 163609 is a trash star

HD 163609 scores 11 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 2 science badges — Star and Sun-like G-type 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.