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Common star 17 EP

GL Gl 524.1

RA 206.2723° · Dec -4.6203° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
17 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 17

5 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Red dwarf · +6

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M2 — 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 10.5 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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. ≈ 1.4 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 127.8 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
8.542
bv
1.344
constellation
Vir
dist ly
81.8665
luminosity
0.0334
mag
10.54
name
GL Gl 524.1
spect
M2

About GL Gl 524.1

GL Gl 524.1 is a common star. It lies about 81.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vir, shines at apparent magnitude 10.54 and has spectral type M2.

Its spectrum reads M2 — 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 524.1 in the constellation Vir. At apparent magnitude 10.54, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, GL Gl 524.1 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 524.1 is a common star

GL Gl 524.1 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 4 science badges — Star, On the zodiac, Cool red M-type 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.