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Uncommon star 27 EP

GL Gl 488

RA 192.6815° · Dec -0.7681° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
27 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 27

7 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M0.5V — 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 8.5 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Virgo.
  • 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 April — 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. ≈ 605.9 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
8.369
bv
1.409
constellation
Vir
dist ly
34.4773
luminosity
0.0391
mag
8.49
name
GL Gl 488
spect
M0.5V

About GL Gl 488

GL Gl 488 is an uncommon star. It lies about 34.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vir, shines at apparent magnitude 8.49 and has spectral type M0.5V.

Its spectrum reads M0.5V — 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 488 in the constellation Vir. At apparent magnitude 8.49, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 488 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 488 is an uncommon star

GL Gl 488 scores 27 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 7 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, 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.