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Uncommon star 33 EP

GL Gl 461A

RA 185.1078° · Dec 0.5839° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
33 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 33

1 more point to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +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 M0 V — 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 10.1 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Virgo.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around March — 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. ≈ 909.8 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
9.097
binary
yes
bv
1.47
constellation
Vir
dist ly
51.7707
luminosity
0.02
mag
10.1
name
GL Gl 461A
spect
M0 V

About GL Gl 461A

GL Gl 461A is an uncommon star. It lies about 51.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vir, shines at apparent magnitude 10.1 and has spectral type M0 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 461A in the constellation Vir. At apparent magnitude 10.1, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 461A 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 461A is an uncommon star

GL Gl 461A 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 — Star, Binary star, On the zodiac, Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star, Deep red star and Red dwarf — 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.