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Common star 20 EP

GL Gl 200A

RA 79.8027° · Dec -3.0738° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Binary star +6
  • In Orion's hunting ground +6
  • Star +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • In Orion's hunting ground · +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 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.

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 Orion.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around December — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
6.826
binary
yes
bv
1.051
constellation
Ori
dist ly
50.3872
luminosity
0.162
mag
7.77
name
GL Gl 200A
spect
K3V

About GL Gl 200A

GL Gl 200A is a common star. It lies about 50.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ori, shines at apparent magnitude 7.77 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 200A in the constellation Ori. At apparent magnitude 7.77, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 200A 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 200A is a common star

GL Gl 200A scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, Binary star, In Orion's hunting ground, 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.