Epic star 61 EP

Lalande 21185

RA 165.8345° · Dec 35.9699° · star

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Score breakdown

· 8 badges

61 pts · Epic

Epic 78 pts → Anomaly

Stellar next door (<10 ly) +25
Has a proper name +8
Deep red star +8
Red dwarf +6
Cool red M-type star +5
Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
Star +3
Main-sequence star +2

Total score 61

17 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

Star · +3
Stellar next door (<10 ly) · +25
Has a proper name · +8
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

Next-door neighbour. One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun — a first port of call for any interstellar mission we ever build.

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M2V — 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 7.5 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 March — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

Verdict. A multi-generation starship could one day attempt the crossing.

Properties

absmag: 10.46
bv: 1.502
constellation: UMa
dist ly: 8.3069
luminosity: 0.0057
mag: 7.49
name: Lalande 21185
named: yes
spect: M2V

Nearby objects

About Lalande 21185

Lalande 21185 is an epic star. It lies about 8.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation UMa, shines at apparent magnitude 7.49 and has spectral type M2V.

One of the closest objects of its kind to the Sun — a first port of call for any interstellar mission we ever build.

How to see it

Look for Lalande 21185 in the constellation UMa. At apparent magnitude 7.49, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, Lalande 21185 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 Lalande 21185 is an epic star

Lalande 21185 scores 61 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 17 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 8 science badges — Star, Stellar next door (<10 ly), Has a proper name, 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.