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Common variable star 16 EP

GL GJ 3633

RA 164.1283° · Dec 7.3885° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
16 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Variable star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) +2
Total score 16

6 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) · +2
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K0 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • It changes. This star does not hold still: its brightness rises and falls on a rhythm of hours, days or years, either pulsing in size or being eclipsed by a companion.

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 7.4 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Leo.
  • 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 March — 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. ≈ 991.8 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
6.179
bv
0.92
constellation
Leo
dist ly
56.438
luminosity
0.294
mag
7.37
name
GL GJ 3633
spect
K0
var amplitude
0.04
var designation
GY
var max
7.353
var min
7.393

About GL GJ 3633

GL GJ 3633 is a common variable star. It lies about 56.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Leo, shines at apparent magnitude 7.37 and has spectral type K0.

Its spectrum reads K0 — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for GL GJ 3633 in the constellation Leo. At apparent magnitude 7.37, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 3633 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 GJ 3633 is a common variable star

GL GJ 3633 scores 16 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, Orange K-type star, Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) and A named variable 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.