RA 301.5199° · Dec -79.4233° · star
2 more points to reach Uncommon.
HD 188520 is a common variable star. It lies about 423 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Oct, shines at apparent magnitude 8.01 and has spectral type A7IV/V.
Its spectrum reads A7IV/V — 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 HD 188520 in the constellation Oct. At apparent magnitude 8.01, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HD 188520 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 188520 scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, White A-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), 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.