RA 343.3150° · Dec 62.1458° · star
12 more points to reach Epic.
HD 216629 is a rare variable star. It lies about 2,787.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cep, shines at apparent magnitude 9.34 and has spectral type B2IV-Vne.
Its spectrum reads B2IV-Vne — 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 216629 in the constellation Cep. At apparent magnitude 9.34, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, HD 216629 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 216629 scores 38 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 8 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Never sets (northern circumpolar), Hot blue B-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), Blue-white star, 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.