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Trash star 14 EP

HD 216144

RA 342.6422° · Dec -12.6915° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
14 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
Total score 14

1 more point to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K1IV/V — 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 a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.

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 8.4 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Aquarius.
  • 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 September — 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. ≈ 9.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
2.385
bv
1.163
constellation
Aqr
dist ly
527.7605
luminosity
9.6828
mag
8.43
name
HD 216144
spect
K1IV/V

About HD 216144

HD 216144 is a trash star. It lies about 527.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 8.43 and has spectral type K1IV/V.

Its spectrum reads K1IV/V — 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 216144 in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 8.43, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 216144 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 216144 is a trash star

HD 216144 scores 14 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star and Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) — 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.