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Rare star 46 EP

GL Gl 338A

RA 138.5974° · Dec 52.6866° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges
46 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Deep red star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 46

4 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Nearby (<25 ly) · +12
  • Binary star · +6
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) · +4
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Not one star but two. It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M0V — 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 7.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Ursa Major.
  • 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 February — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
8.819
binary
yes
bv
1.41
constellation
UMa
dist ly
18.9539
luminosity
0.0258
mag
7.64
name
GL Gl 338A
spect
M0V

About GL Gl 338A

GL Gl 338A is a rare star. It lies about 19 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation UMa, shines at apparent magnitude 7.64 and has spectral type M0V.

It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 338A in the constellation UMa. At apparent magnitude 7.64, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 338A 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 GL Gl 338A is a rare star

GL Gl 338A scores 46 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Star, Nearby (<25 ly), Binary star, Never sets (northern circumpolar), Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star, Deep red 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.