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Uncommon variable star 24 EP

GL Gl 417

RA 168.1349° · Dec 35.8141° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
24 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) +2
Total score 24

10 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Never sets (northern circumpolar) · +4
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) · +2
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G0V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
  • 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 6.4 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
4.705
bv
0.6
constellation
UMa
dist ly
71.5097
luminosity
1.1429
mag
6.41
name
GL Gl 417
spect
G0V
var amplitude
0.03
var designation
MN
var max
6.399
var min
6.429

About GL Gl 417

GL Gl 417 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 71.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation UMa, shines at apparent magnitude 6.41 and has spectral type G0V.

Its spectrum reads G0V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 417 in the constellation UMa. At apparent magnitude 6.41, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 417 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 417 is an uncommon variable star

GL Gl 417 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Never sets (northern circumpolar), Sun-like G-type star, Main-sequence 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.