RA 232.0860° · Dec -88.1330° · star
7 more points to reach Uncommon.
HR 5491 is a common variable star. It lies about 212.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Oct, shines at apparent magnitude 6.49 and has spectral type Am.
Its spectrum reads Am — an A-type star: white-hot, typically about twice the Sun's mass, and the class most of the sky's famous bright stars belong to.
Look for HR 5491 in the constellation Oct. At apparent magnitude 6.49, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HR 5491 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.
HR 5491 scores 15 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 7 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Variable star, White A-type star, Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) and A named variable 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.