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Uncommon variable star 23 EP

GL Gl 60A

RA 23.7542° · Dec -29.9103° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
23 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Binary star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 23

11 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Binary star · +6
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

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 K3V — 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 on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
  • It changes. This star does not hold still: its brightness rises and falls on a rhythm of hours, days or years, either pulsing in size or being eclipsed by a companion.

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 7.1 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.

Properties

absmag
5.435
binary
yes
bv
0.909
constellation
Scl
dist ly
70.5355
luminosity
0.5834
mag
7.11
name
GL Gl 60A
spect
K3V
var amplitude
0.2
var designation
BB
var max
7.087
var min
7.287

About GL Gl 60A

GL Gl 60A is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 70.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Scl, shines at apparent magnitude 7.11 and has spectral type K3V.

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 60A in the constellation Scl. At apparent magnitude 7.11, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 60A 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 60A is an uncommon variable star

GL Gl 60A scores 23 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Binary star, Orange K-type star, Main-sequence star, Gently variable and A named variable 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.