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Rare star 48 EP

GL Gl 15B

RA 4.5774° · Dec 44.0235° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges
48 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Deep red star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 48

2 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Nearby (<25 ly) · +12
  • Binary star · +6
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) · +6

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Not one star but two. It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M6 Ve — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

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 11.1 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Andromeda.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north 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. A multi-generation starship could one day attempt the crossing.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 204.5 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
13.298
binary
yes
bv
1.79
constellation
And
dist ly
11.6372
luminosity
0.0004
mag
11.06
name
GL Gl 15B
spect
M6 Ve

About GL Gl 15B

GL Gl 15B is a rare star. It lies about 11.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation And, shines at apparent magnitude 11.06 and has spectral type M6 Ve.

It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 15B in the constellation And. At apparent magnitude 11.06, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 15B 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 Gl 15B is a rare star

GL Gl 15B scores 48 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Star, Nearby (<25 ly), Binary star, Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star, Deep red star, Red dwarf and Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) — 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.