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Trash star 13 EP

HD 8638

RA 21.2049° · Dec -27.8390° · star

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Score breakdown

· 3 badges
13 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 13

2 more points to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G6Vw... — 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 8.3 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Sculptor.
  • 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 2.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
5.285
bv
0.684
constellation
Scl
dist ly
130.1499
luminosity
0.6699
mag
8.29
name
HD 8638
spect
G6Vw...

Nearby objects

About HD 8638

HD 8638 is a trash star. It lies about 130.1 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Scl, shines at apparent magnitude 8.29 and has spectral type G6Vw....

Its spectrum reads G6Vw... — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 8638 in the constellation Scl. At apparent magnitude 8.29, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 8638 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 8638 is a trash star

HD 8638 scores 13 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 3 science badges — Star, 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.