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Common star 16 EP

HD 115957

RA 200.1638° · Dec -14.7724° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
16 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 16

6 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5V — 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.

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 8.4 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Virgo.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 2.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
5.333
bv
0.645
constellation
Vir
dist ly
132.0469
luminosity
0.6409
mag
8.37
name
HD 115957
spect
G5V

About HD 115957

HD 115957 is a common star. It lies about 132 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vir, shines at apparent magnitude 8.37 and has spectral type G5V.

Its spectrum reads G5V — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 115957 in the constellation Vir. At apparent magnitude 8.37, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 115957 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 HD 115957 is a common star

HD 115957 scores 16 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star and Main-sequence 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.