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Uncommon variable star 26 EP

GL Gl 770

RA 298.5740° · Dec -23.9411° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
26 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Toward the galactic centre +8
  • Variable star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) +2
Total score 26

8 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Toward the galactic centre · +8
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) · +2
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K3/K4V — 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 6.2 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 July — 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. ≈ 805.2 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
5.482
bv
1.017
constellation
Sgr
dist ly
45.8213
luminosity
0.5587
mag
6.22
name
GL Gl 770
spect
K3/K4V
var amplitude
0.04
var designation
V4200
var max
6.2
var min
6.24

About GL Gl 770

GL Gl 770 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 45.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Sgr, shines at apparent magnitude 6.22 and has spectral type K3/K4V.

Its spectrum reads K3/K4V — 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 GL Gl 770 in the constellation Sgr. At apparent magnitude 6.22, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 770 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 770 is an uncommon variable star

GL Gl 770 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Toward the galactic centre, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star, Main-sequence 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.