About HD 38247
HD 38247 is a rare star. It sits in the constellation Tau, shines at apparent magnitude 6.67 and has spectral type G8Iab.
Its spectrum reads G8Iab — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
Rare star 40 EP
HD 38247
RA 86.2980° · Dec 18.7044° · star
Score breakdown
· 5 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Supergiant +18
- Sun-like G-type star +8
- Deep red star +8
- Star +3
- On the zodiac +3
Total score 40
10 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Star · +3
- On the zodiac · +3
- Sun-like G-type star · +8
- Supergiant · +18
- Deep red star · +8
Trivia
What it actually is
- Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G8Iab — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
- Where it is in life. It is a supergiant. Drop it where the Sun is and its surface would engulf the inner planets.
Find it in the sky
- How to spot it. At magnitude 6.7 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Taurus.
- 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 December — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out deep orange-red (B−V 1.6) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.
By the numbers
- Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 3670 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.
What's in a name
- Its catalogue. The HD number is from the Henry Draper Catalogue, in which Annie Jump Cannon personally classified the spectra of nearly 400,000 stars — still the largest such feat by one person.
Properties
- absmag
- -13.33
- bv
- 1.583
- constellation
- Tau
- luminosity
- 18706821.4037
- mag
- 6.67
- name
- HD 38247
- spect
- G8Iab
How to see it
Look for HD 38247 in the constellation Tau. At apparent magnitude 6.67, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HD 38247 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 38247 is a rare star
HD 38247 scores 40 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star, Supergiant and Deep red 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.