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Common star 19 EP

HD 197920

RA 311.8942° · Dec -26.5257° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G8/K0IV/V — 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 9.9 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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 August — 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. ≈ 6 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 533.8 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
4.798
bv
0.796
constellation
Cap
dist ly
341.8826
luminosity
1.0491
mag
9.9
name
HD 197920
spect
G8/K0IV/V

About HD 197920

HD 197920 is a common star. It lies about 341.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cap, shines at apparent magnitude 9.9 and has spectral type G8/K0IV/V.

Its spectrum reads G8/K0IV/V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 197920 in the constellation Cap. At apparent magnitude 9.9, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 197920 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 197920 is a common star

HD 197920 scores 19 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 3 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 Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) — 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.