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Rare star 37 EP

GL Gl 408

RA 165.0178° · Dec 22.8330° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
37 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Nearby (<25 ly) +12
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 37

13 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Nearby (<25 ly) · +12
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M3 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

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 10 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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 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. ≈ 381.8 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 33.9 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
10.912
bv
1.525
constellation
Leo
dist ly
21.7292
luminosity
0.0038
mag
10.03
name
GL Gl 408
spect
M3

About GL Gl 408

GL Gl 408 is a rare star. It lies about 21.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Leo, shines at apparent magnitude 10.03 and has spectral type M3.

Its spectrum reads M3 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 408 in the constellation Leo. At apparent magnitude 10.03, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 408 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 408 is a rare star

GL Gl 408 scores 37 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 13 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Star, Nearby (<25 ly), On the zodiac, Cool red M-type 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.