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Common star 16 EP

HD 190821

RA 301.9141° · Dec -20.8328° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
16 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 16

6 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G3/G5V — 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 8.3 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Capricornus.
  • 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. ≈ 5.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 469.8 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
3.475
bv
0.664
constellation
Cap
dist ly
300.8818
luminosity
3.5481
mag
8.3
name
HD 190821
spect
G3/G5V

About HD 190821

HD 190821 is a common star. It lies about 300.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cap, shines at apparent magnitude 8.3 and has spectral type G3/G5V.

Its spectrum reads G3/G5V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 190821 in the constellation Cap. At apparent magnitude 8.3, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 190821 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 190821 is a common star

HD 190821 scores 16 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, 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.