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Uncommon star 22 EP

HD 34878

RA 80.1823° · Dec 2.5448° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
22 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • In Orion's hunting ground +6
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
Total score 22

12 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • In Orion's hunting ground · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G8IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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. 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 6.4 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 8.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
0.637
bv
1.041
constellation
Ori
dist ly
469.9654
luminosity
48.4395
mag
6.43
name
HD 34878
spect
G8IV

About HD 34878

HD 34878 is an uncommon star. It lies about 470 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ori, shines at apparent magnitude 6.43 and has spectral type G8IV.

Its spectrum reads G8IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 34878 in the constellation Ori. At apparent magnitude 6.43, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 34878 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 34878 is an uncommon star

HD 34878 scores 22 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, In Orion's hunting ground, Sun-like G-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.