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Trash star 11 EP

HD 257886

RA 97.2731° · Dec 27.0089° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
11 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 11

4 more points to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K2V — 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 8.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Gemini.
  • 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 1.7 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
6.226
bv
0.906
constellation
Gem
dist ly
96.8974
luminosity
0.2816
mag
8.59
name
HD 257886
spect
K2V

About HD 257886

HD 257886 is a trash star. It lies about 96.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Gem, shines at apparent magnitude 8.59 and has spectral type K2V.

Its spectrum reads K2V — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HD 257886 in the constellation Gem. At apparent magnitude 8.59, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 257886 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 257886 is a trash star

HD 257886 scores 11 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, 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.