RA 266.0656° · Dec 5.7143° · star
10 more points to reach Rare.
HD 161261 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 1,181.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Oph, shines at apparent magnitude 8.28 and has spectral type B8V.
Its spectrum reads B8V — a blue-white B-type star, with a surface tens of thousands of degrees hot and a life measured in tens of millions of years.
Look for HD 161261 in the constellation Oph. At apparent magnitude 8.28, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HD 161261 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 161261 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Hot blue B-type star, Main-sequence 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.