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Common star 19 EP

HD 8280

RA 20.4663° · Dec -22.5027° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G3V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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. 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 9.9 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Cetus.
  • 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 October — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 18.4 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
2.391
bv
0.643
constellation
Cet
dist ly
1045.3717
luminosity
9.6294
mag
9.92
name
HD 8280
spect
G3V

About HD 8280

HD 8280 is a common star. It lies about 1,045.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cet, shines at apparent magnitude 9.92 and has spectral type G3V.

Its spectrum reads G3V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 8280 in the constellation Cet. At apparent magnitude 9.92, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 8280 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 HD 8280 is a common star

HD 8280 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, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), 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.