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Common star 19 EP

HD 203478

RA 320.8325° · Dec -30.2605° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G8V: — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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. 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 10.4 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Microscopium.
  • 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. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 26.4 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
2.072
bv
0.909
constellation
Mic
dist ly
1503.0231
luminosity
12.9181
mag
10.39
name
HD 203478
spect
G8V:

About HD 203478

HD 203478 is a common star. It lies about 1,503 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Mic, shines at apparent magnitude 10.39 and has spectral type G8V:.

Its spectrum reads G8V: — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 203478 in the constellation Mic. At apparent magnitude 10.39, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 203478 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 203478 is a common star

HD 203478 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, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), 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.