← Back to dex
Uncommon star 28 EP

GL GJ 3801

RA 205.6803° · Dec 33.2901° · star

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

Computing the sky for your location…

Score breakdown

· 5 badges
28 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
Total score 28

6 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) · +6

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M: — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

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 12 it is far too faint for the eye: this one belongs to cameras and long exposures, 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 531.8 thousand years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 47.3 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
12.192
bv
2.4
constellation
CVn
dist ly
30.264
luminosity
0.0012
mag
12.03
name
GL GJ 3801
spect
M:

About GL GJ 3801

GL GJ 3801 is an uncommon star. It lies about 30.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CVn, shines at apparent magnitude 12.03 and has spectral type M:.

Its spectrum reads M: — 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 GJ 3801 in the constellation CVn. At apparent magnitude 12.03, it takes a larger telescope or a long-exposure image to capture.

Like any astronomical target, GL GJ 3801 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 3801 is an uncommon star

GL GJ 3801 scores 28 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Star, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf and Intrinsically feeble (Mv > +12) — 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.