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Common star 20 EP

83 Leo

RA 171.6888° · Dec 3.0131° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Binary star +6
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Orange K-type star +3
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5

Trivia

What makes it special

  • Not one star but two. It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K0IV — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • 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. 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 6.5 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.

Properties

absmag
5.244
binary
yes
bv
0.778
constellation
Leo
dist ly
57.8803
luminosity
0.6957
mag
6.49
name
83 Leo
spect
K0IV

About 83 Leo

83 Leo is a common star. It lies about 57.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Leo, shines at apparent magnitude 6.49 and has spectral type K0IV.

It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.

How to see it

Look for 83 Leo in the constellation Leo. At apparent magnitude 6.49, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, 83 Leo 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 83 Leo is a common star

83 Leo scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, Binary star, On the zodiac, Orange K-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.