RA 281.3912° · Dec -48.4595° · star
3 more points to reach Common.
HD 172996 is a trash star. It lies about 642 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Tel, shines at apparent magnitude 7.17 and has spectral type K3/K4III.
Its spectrum reads K3/K4III — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
Look for HD 172996 in the constellation Tel. At apparent magnitude 7.17, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HD 172996 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 172996 scores 12 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Star, Orange K-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.