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Uncommon star 32 EP

GL GJ 3877

RA 224.1601° · Dec -28.1654° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
32 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
Total score 32

2 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

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

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads dM8 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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. 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 17.1 it is far too faint for the eye: this one belongs to cameras and long exposures, over in Hydra.
  • 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 May — 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. ≈ 356 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
18.084
bv
1.34
constellation
Hya
dist ly
20.2582
luminosity
0
mag
17.05
name
GL GJ 3877
spect
dM8

About GL GJ 3877

GL GJ 3877 is an uncommon star. It lies about 20.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Hya, shines at apparent magnitude 17.05 and has spectral type dM8.

Its spectrum reads dM8 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for GL GJ 3877 in the constellation Hya. At apparent magnitude 17.05, it takes a larger telescope or a long-exposure image to capture.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 3877 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 GJ 3877 is an uncommon star

GL GJ 3877 scores 32 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, Nearby (<25 ly), Cool red M-type 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.