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Trash star 11 EP

HIP 42491

RA 129.9362° · Dec 5.7705° · star

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Score breakdown

· 2 badges
11 pts · Trash
Trash 15 pts → Common
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Star +3
Total score 11

4 more points to reach Common.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

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 8.4 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Hydra.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • 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. ≈ 1.6 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 142.9 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
6.17
bv
0.81
constellation
Hya
dist ly
91.4884
luminosity
0.2965
mag
8.41
name
HIP 42491
spect
G5

About HIP 42491

HIP 42491 is a trash star. It lies about 91.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Hya, shines at apparent magnitude 8.41 and has spectral type G5.

Its spectrum reads G5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HIP 42491 in the constellation Hya. At apparent magnitude 8.41, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 42491 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 42491 is a trash star

HIP 42491 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 2 science badges — Star and Sun-like G-type 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.