About Sirius
Sirius is an epic star. It lies about 8.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CMa, shines at apparent magnitude -1.44 and has spectral type A0m....
One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun.
Epic star 62 EP
Sirius
RA 101.2872° · Dec -16.7161° · star
Score breakdown
· 5 badgesEpic 68 pts → Anomaly
- Stellar next door (<10 ly) +25
- Brilliant (mag < 1) +18
- Naked-eye visible +8
- Has a proper name +8
- Star +3
Total score 62
6 more points to reach Anomaly.
Badges
- Star · +3
- Stellar next door (<10 ly) · +25
- Naked-eye visible · +8
- Brilliant (mag < 1) · +18
- Has a proper name · +8
Trivia
What makes it special
- Next-door neighbour. One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun.
Could we get there?
- Verdict. A multi-generation starship could one day attempt the crossing.
Getting there
- Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 151.1 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
- Fastest probe ever. ≈ 13.4 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.
- At 10% light speed. ≈ 86 years in a starship at a tenth of light speed.
- Distance. 8.6 light-years from Earth.
Look-back time
- Look-back time. The light you'd see left around the year 2017.
Saying hello
- Say hello. A radio message and its reply would take 17.2 years round-trip.
How we found it
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Properties
- absmag
- 1.454
- bv
- 0.009
- constellation
- CMa
- dist ly
- 8.6011
- mag
- -1.44
- name
- Sirius
- named
- yes
- spect
- A0m...
How to see it
Look for Sirius in the constellation CMa. At apparent magnitude -1.44, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Sirius 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 Sirius is an epic star
Sirius scores 62 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, Stellar next door (<10 ly), Naked-eye visible, Brilliant (mag < 1) and Has a proper name — 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.