RA 344.2688° · Dec 48.6841° · star
13 more points to reach Epic.
HR 8731 is a rare variable star. It lies about 821.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Lac, shines at apparent magnitude 5.34 and has spectral type B4IIIpe.
Its spectrum reads B4IIIpe — 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 HR 8731 in the constellation Lac. At apparent magnitude 5.34, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, HR 8731 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.
HR 8731 scores 37 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 13 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Naked-eye visible, Hot blue B-type star, Giant star, 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.