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Common star 18 EP

HD 49748

RA 102.2049° · Dec -27.3658° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
18 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Blue-white star +5
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 18

4 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Blue-white star · +5

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 9.2 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Canis Major.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around January — 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. ≈ 17.1 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.852
bv
-0.319
constellation
CMa
dist ly
970.7022
luminosity
15.8198
mag
9.22
name
HD 49748
spect
G5V

About HD 49748

HD 49748 is a common star. It lies about 970.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CMa, shines at apparent magnitude 9.22 and has spectral type G5V.

Its spectrum reads G5V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 49748 in the constellation CMa. At apparent magnitude 9.22, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 49748 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 49748 is a common star

HD 49748 scores 18 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Sun-like G-type star, Main-sequence star and Blue-white 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.