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Rare star 36 EP

HD 187388

RA 297.8096° · Dec -38.2919° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
36 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Toward the galactic centre +8
  • Deep red star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
Total score 36

14 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Toward the galactic centre · +8
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5
  • Deep red star · +8

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K4IV — 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 a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.

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 9.1 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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 July — 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. ≈ 19.9 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.357
bv
1.448
constellation
Sgr
dist ly
1132.486
luminosity
24.9574
mag
9.06
name
HD 187388
spect
K4IV

About HD 187388

HD 187388 is a rare star. It lies about 1,132.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Sgr, shines at apparent magnitude 9.06 and has spectral type K4IV.

Its spectrum reads K4IV — 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 HD 187388 in the constellation Sgr. At apparent magnitude 9.06, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 187388 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 187388 is a rare star

HD 187388 scores 36 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 14 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Toward the galactic centre, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) 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.