RA 135.2101° · Dec 5.2420° · star
14 more points to reach Epic.
Ross 686 is a rare star. It lies about 80 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Hya, shines at apparent magnitude 12.68 and has spectral type dM4.
It is a binary: two stars orbiting a shared centre of mass. More than half of all the 'stars' you can see are actually multiple systems.
Look for Ross 686 in the constellation Hya. At apparent magnitude 12.68, it takes a larger telescope or a long-exposure image to capture.
Like any astronomical target, Ross 686 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.
Ross 686 scores 36 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 14 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Star, Binary star, Has a proper name, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star and Red dwarf — 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.