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Uncommon star 30 EP

HD 169636

RA 276.6655° · Dec -25.9166° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
30 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Toward the galactic centre +8
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 30

4 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Toward the galactic centre · +8
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G6/G8V — 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 8.9 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Sagittarius.
  • 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 June — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 51.6 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 4.6 million years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
-0.913
bv
0.998
constellation
Sgr
dist ly
2938.3423
luminosity
201.9296
mag
8.86
name
HD 169636
spect
G6/G8V

About HD 169636

HD 169636 is an uncommon star. It lies about 2,938.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Sgr, shines at apparent magnitude 8.86 and has spectral type G6/G8V.

Its spectrum reads G6/G8V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 169636 in the constellation Sgr. At apparent magnitude 8.86, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 169636 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 169636 is an uncommon star

HD 169636 scores 30 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Toward the galactic centre, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star and Main-sequence 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.