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Trash star 14 EP

GL GJ 3178A

RA 41.4149° · Dec 44.9488° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
14 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Binary star +6
  • Star +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 14

1 more point to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2

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 K5V: — 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.

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 10.8 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Perseus.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around November — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
8.983
binary
yes
constellation
Per
dist ly
75.2899
luminosity
0.0222
mag
10.8
name
GL GJ 3178A
spect
K5V:

About GL GJ 3178A

GL GJ 3178A is a trash star. It lies about 75.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Per, shines at apparent magnitude 10.8 and has spectral type K5V:.

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 GJ 3178A in the constellation Per. At apparent magnitude 10.8, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 3178A 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 GJ 3178A is a trash star

GL GJ 3178A scores 14 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Binary star, Orange K-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.