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Uncommon star 26 EP

61 Cyg

RA 316.7274° · Dec 38.7421° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
26 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Binary star +6
  • Star +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 26

8 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Nearby (<25 ly) · +12
  • Binary star · +6
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2

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 K7V — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.

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 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, 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.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. A multi-generation starship could one day attempt the crossing.

Properties

absmag
8.331
binary
yes
bv
1.309
constellation
Cyg
dist ly
11.4089
luminosity
0.0405
mag
6.05
name
61 Cyg
spect
K7V

About 61 Cyg

61 Cyg is an uncommon star. It lies about 11.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cyg, shines at apparent magnitude 6.05 and has spectral type K7V.

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 61 Cyg in the constellation Cyg. At apparent magnitude 6.05, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, 61 Cyg 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 61 Cyg is an uncommon star

61 Cyg 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 5 science badges — Star, Nearby (<25 ly), Binary star, Orange K-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.