Common star 19 EP

HD 206140

RA 325.0293° · Dec 1.1747° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges

19 pts · Common

Common 22 pts → Uncommon

Deep red star +8
Star +3
On the zodiac +3
Orange K-type star +3
Main-sequence star +2

Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

Star · +3
On the zodiac · +3
Orange K-type star · +3
Main-sequence star · +2
Deep red star · +8

Trivia

Hard to believe

True brightness. It pours out about 5 million times as much light as the Sun. It only looks ordinary because it is so far away.

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K4V — 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.

Find it in the sky

How to spot it. At magnitude 8.1 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, 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.

Its true colour

Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out deep orange-red (B−V 1.6) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

By the numbers

Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 3600 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.

Properties

absmag: -11.92
bv: 1.633
constellation: Aqr
luminosity: 5105049.9998
mag: 8.08
name: HD 206140
spect: K4V

Nearby objects

About HD 206140

HD 206140 is a common star. It sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 8.08 and has spectral type K4V.

Its spectrum reads K4V — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HD 206140 in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 8.08, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 206140 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 206140 is a common star

HD 206140 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 5 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star, Main-sequence star and Deep red 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.