RA 239.7720° · Dec -51.5725° · star
5 more points to reach Uncommon.
HD 142838 is a common star. It lies about 1,598.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Nor, shines at apparent magnitude 9.56 and has spectral type F0IV/V.
Its spectrum reads F0IV/V — an F-type star — a little hotter, whiter and shorter-lived than the Sun.
Look for HD 142838 in the constellation Nor. At apparent magnitude 9.56, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, HD 142838 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.
HD 142838 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, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Yellow-white F-type star and Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) — 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.