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Common star 16 EP

HIP 31878

RA 99.9585° · Dec -61.4782° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
16 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 16

6 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Red dwarf · +6

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M1V — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 9.7 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Pictor.
  • Southern sky only. So far south it never rises for most of the northern hemisphere. To see it you'd have to travel to Chile, South Africa or Australia.
  • 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. ≈ 1.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
7.963
bv
1.257
constellation
Pic
dist ly
72.9004
luminosity
0.0569
mag
9.71
name
HIP 31878
spect
M1V

About HIP 31878

HIP 31878 is a common star. It lies about 72.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pic, shines at apparent magnitude 9.71 and has spectral type M1V.

Its spectrum reads M1V — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for HIP 31878 in the constellation Pic. At apparent magnitude 9.71, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 31878 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 HIP 31878 is a common star

HIP 31878 scores 16 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star and Red dwarf — 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.