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Trash star 9 EP

HIP 538

RA 1.6325° · Dec 5.8254° · star

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Score breakdown

· 3 badges
9 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
Total score 9

6 more points to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K1 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

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 10.9 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Pisces.
  • 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 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. ≈ 3.8 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 339.7 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
6.829
bv
1.008
constellation
Psc
dist ly
217.5823
luminosity
0.1616
mag
10.95
name
HIP 538
spect
K1

About HIP 538

HIP 538 is a trash star. It lies about 217.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Psc, shines at apparent magnitude 10.95 and has spectral type K1.

Its spectrum reads K1 — 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 HIP 538 in the constellation Psc. At apparent magnitude 10.95, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 538 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 HIP 538 is a trash star

HIP 538 scores 9 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 3 science badges — Star, On the zodiac and Orange K-type 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.