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Common variable star 17 EP

GL GJ 3776

RA 199.7164° · Dec 33.4387° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
17 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 17

5 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K1V — 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 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. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 8.2 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Canes Venatici.
  • 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
1.55
bv
1.123
constellation
CVn
dist ly
691.0085
luminosity
20.893
mag
8.18
name
GL GJ 3776
spect
K1V
var amplitude
0.16
var designation
BL
var max
8.098
var min
8.258

About GL GJ 3776

GL GJ 3776 is a common variable star. It lies about 691 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CVn, shines at apparent magnitude 8.18 and has spectral type K1V.

Its spectrum reads K1V — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for GL GJ 3776 in the constellation CVn. At apparent magnitude 8.18, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 3776 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 GJ 3776 is a common variable star

GL GJ 3776 scores 17 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Orange K-type star, Main-sequence star, Gently variable 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.