RA 258.6619° · Dec 14.3903° · star
23 more points to reach Anomaly.
Rasalgethi is an epic variable star. It lies about 359.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Her, shines at apparent magnitude 2.78 and has spectral type M5IIvar.
Its spectrum reads M5IIvar — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
Look for Rasalgethi in the constellation Her. At apparent magnitude 2.78, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Rasalgethi 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.
Rasalgethi scores 55 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 23 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 8 science badges — Variable star, Naked-eye visible, Has a proper name, Cool red M-type star, Bright giant, Intrinsically luminous (Mv < −2), Gently variable 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.