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Common variable star 20 EP

GL Gl 486.1

RA 192.1961° · Dec 24.8402° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) +2
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • 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 G7V — 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 6.3 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Coma Berenices.
  • 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 April — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
5.146
bv
0.703
constellation
Com
dist ly
55.2244
luminosity
0.7614
mag
6.29
name
GL Gl 486.1
spect
G7V
var amplitude
0.04
var designation
LW
var max
6.283
var min
6.323

About GL Gl 486.1

GL Gl 486.1 is a common variable star. It lies about 55.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Com, shines at apparent magnitude 6.29 and has spectral type G7V.

Its spectrum reads G7V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for GL Gl 486.1 in the constellation Com. At apparent magnitude 6.29, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 486.1 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 486.1 is a common variable star

GL Gl 486.1 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 — Variable star, 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.