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Common star 20 EP

HD 121223

RA 208.6321° · Dec -22.2450° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Giant star +6
  • Star +3
  • On the zodiac +3
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Star · +3
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Giant star · +6

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G8/K0III — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

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 6.6 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. ≈ 11 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).
  • Fastest probe ever. ≈ 981.2 thousand years even at the Parker Solar Probe's 192 km/s.

Properties

absmag
0.186
bv
1.05
constellation
Vir
dist ly
628.4315
luminosity
73.3838
mag
6.61
name
HD 121223
spect
G8/K0III

About HD 121223

HD 121223 is a common star. It lies about 628.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vir, shines at apparent magnitude 6.61 and has spectral type G8/K0III.

Its spectrum reads G8/K0III — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 121223 in the constellation Vir. At apparent magnitude 6.61, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 121223 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 121223 is a common star

HD 121223 scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 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 Giant 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.