← Back to dex
Uncommon variable star 33 EP

GL GJ 1264

RA 327.2727° · Dec -72.1025° · star

Loading sky survey…
🌌 View in 3D star map
Tonight’s visibility

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 7 badges
33 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • 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 33

1 more point to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • 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 it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M2Ve — 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 9.5 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Indus.
  • Southern sky only. So far south it never rises for most of the northern hemisphere. To see it you'd have to travel to Chile, South Africa or Australia.
  • 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.

Properties

absmag
8.467
bv
1.42
constellation
Ind
dist ly
53.2153
luminosity
0.0357
mag
9.53
name
GL GJ 1264
spect
M2Ve
var amplitude
0.09
var designation
AY
var max
9.49
var min
9.58

About GL GJ 1264

GL GJ 1264 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 53.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ind, shines at apparent magnitude 9.53 and has spectral type M2Ve.

Its spectrum reads M2Ve — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for GL GJ 1264 in the constellation Ind. At apparent magnitude 9.53, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 1264 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 GJ 1264 is an uncommon variable star

GL GJ 1264 scores 33 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable 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.