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Common star 19 EP

GL Gl 291B

RA 117.9412° · Dec -13.8961° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

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 G4 V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

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 6.2 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Puppis.
  • 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 January — 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. ≈ 955.6 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
5.06
binary
yes
bv
0.65
constellation
Pup
dist ly
54.3774
luminosity
0.8241
mag
6.17
name
GL Gl 291B
spect
G4 V

About GL Gl 291B

GL Gl 291B is a common star. It lies about 54.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pup, shines at apparent magnitude 6.17 and has spectral type G4 V.

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 291B in the constellation Pup. At apparent magnitude 6.17, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 291B 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 291B is a common star

GL Gl 291B 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 4 science badges — Star, Binary 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.