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Rare variable star 41 EP

GL GJ 3371A

RA 89.9073° · Dec 58.5930° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges
41 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Deep red star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 41

9 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Binary star · +6
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) · +4
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • 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 M1 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 10.2 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Camelopardalis.
  • 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.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
9.593
binary
yes
bv
1.48
constellation
Cam
dist ly
44.1406
luminosity
0.0127
mag
10.25
name
GL GJ 3371A
spect
M1
var amplitude
0.24
var designation
EG
var max
10.205
var min
10.445

About GL GJ 3371A

GL GJ 3371A is a rare variable star. It lies about 44.1 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cam, shines at apparent magnitude 10.25 and has spectral type M1.

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 3371A in the constellation Cam. At apparent magnitude 10.25, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 3371A 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 3371A is a rare variable star

GL GJ 3371A scores 41 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 9 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Variable star, Binary star, Never sets (northern circumpolar), Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf, 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.