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Uncommon star 22 EP

12 Aqr

RA 316.0197° · Dec -5.8231° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
22 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Naked-eye visible +8
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 22

12 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Naked-eye visible · +8
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G4 — 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 5.5 you can see it with your own eyes from a dark site, over in Aquarius.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • 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. ≈ 8.8 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 783.5 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
-0.405
bv
0.683
constellation
Aqr
dist ly
501.7786
luminosity
126.4736
mag
5.53
name
12 Aqr
spect
G4

About 12 Aqr

12 Aqr is an uncommon star. It lies about 501.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 5.53 and has spectral type G4.

Its spectrum reads G4 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for 12 Aqr in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 5.53, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.

Like any astronomical target, 12 Aqr 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 12 Aqr is an uncommon star

12 Aqr scores 22 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Naked-eye visible, On the zodiac and Sun-like G-type 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.