Trash star 13 EP

HD 209974

RA 332.3396° · Dec -64.3401° · star

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Score breakdown

· 3 badges

13 pts · Trash

Trash 15 pts → Common

Sun-like G-type star +8
Star +3
Main-sequence star +2

Total score 13

2 more points to reach Common.

Badges

Star · +3
Sun-like G-type star · +8
Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G3V — 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 8.9 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Tucana.
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.

Getting there

Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 7.2 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag: 3.43
bv: 0.66
constellation: Tuc
dist ly: 408.7168
luminosity: 3.6983
mag: 8.92
name: HD 209974
spect: G3V

Nearby objects

About HD 209974

HD 209974 is a trash star. It lies about 408.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Tuc, shines at apparent magnitude 8.92 and has spectral type G3V.

Its spectrum reads G3V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 209974 in the constellation Tuc. At apparent magnitude 8.92, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 209974 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 209974 is a trash star

HD 209974 scores 13 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 3 science badges — Star, 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.