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Common star 19 EP

HD 87646

RA 151.6699° · Dec 17.8951° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G1IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • Where it is in life. It is a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.

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 8.1 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Leo.
  • 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 5.7 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
3.096
bv
0.632
constellation
Leo
dist ly
322.2884
luminosity
5.0304
mag
8.07
name
HD 87646
spect
G1IV

Nearby objects

About HD 87646

HD 87646 is a common star. It lies about 322.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Leo, shines at apparent magnitude 8.07 and has spectral type G1IV.

Its spectrum reads G1IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 87646 in the constellation Leo. At apparent magnitude 8.07, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 87646 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 87646 is a common star

HD 87646 scores 19 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star and Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) — 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.