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Rare variable star 39 EP

GL Gl 815A

RA 315.0218° · Dec 40.0703° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges
39 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Deep red star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 39

11 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Binary star · +6
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Not one star but two. It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M3Ve — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
  • 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 10.1 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Cygnus.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around August — that's when to go looking.

Properties

absmag
9.198
binary
yes
bv
1.52
constellation
Cyg
dist ly
49.8709
luminosity
0.0182
mag
10.12
name
GL Gl 815A
spect
M3Ve
var amplitude
0.14
var designation
V1396
var max
10.057
var min
10.197

About GL Gl 815A

GL Gl 815A is a rare variable star. It lies about 49.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cyg, shines at apparent magnitude 10.12 and has spectral type M3Ve.

It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 815A in the constellation Cyg. At apparent magnitude 10.12, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 815A 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 815A is a rare variable star

GL Gl 815A scores 39 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Variable star, Binary star, Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star, Deep red star, Red dwarf, Gently variable 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.