RA 308.6391° · Dec 57.9279° · star
2 more points to reach Uncommon.
HD 196421 is a common star. It lies about 3,166.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cyg, shines at apparent magnitude 8.08 and has spectral type B2IV.
Its spectrum reads B2IV — 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 196421 in the constellation Cyg. At apparent magnitude 8.08, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HD 196421 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 196421 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 4 science badges — Star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Hot blue B-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.