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Common star 17 EP

GL Gl 57.1A

RA 20.7610° · Dec -12.9661° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
17 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Binary star +6
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
Total score 17

5 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

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 K0IV — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • Where it is in life. It is a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.

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 7.8 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
5.428
binary
yes
bv
0.9
constellation
Cet
dist ly
99.4985
luminosity
0.5872
mag
7.85
name
GL Gl 57.1A
spect
K0IV

About GL Gl 57.1A

GL Gl 57.1A is a common star. It lies about 99.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cet, shines at apparent magnitude 7.85 and has spectral type K0IV.

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 57.1A in the constellation Cet. At apparent magnitude 7.85, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 57.1A 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 57.1A is a common star

GL Gl 57.1A scores 17 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Binary star, Orange K-type star and Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) — 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.