← Back to dex
Common star 19 EP

GL Gl 518.2A

RA 204.3016° · Dec 30.0851° · star

Loading sky survey…
🌌 View in 3D star map
Tonight’s visibility

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 4 badges
19 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Binary star +6
  • Star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 19

3 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Binary star · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Main-sequence star · +2

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 G8V — 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 9.3 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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
4.461
binary
yes
bv
0.64
constellation
CVn
dist ly
305.6757
luminosity
1.4309
mag
9.32
name
GL Gl 518.2A
spect
G8V

About GL Gl 518.2A

GL Gl 518.2A is a common star. It lies about 305.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CVn, shines at apparent magnitude 9.32 and has spectral type G8V.

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 GL Gl 518.2A in the constellation CVn. At apparent magnitude 9.32, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 518.2A 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 518.2A is a common star

GL Gl 518.2A scores 19 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Binary star, 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.