RA 97.5577° · Dec -64.3256° · openngc
1 more point to reach Uncommon.
NGC 2257 is a common cluster. It sits in the constellation Dor and shines at apparent magnitude 12.62.
A globular cluster: hundreds of thousands of stars packed into a ball a few dozen light-years across, orbiting far out in the galaxy's halo.
Look for NGC 2257 in the constellation Dor. At apparent magnitude 12.62, it takes a larger telescope or a long-exposure image to capture.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 2257 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.
NGC 2257 scores 21 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Star cluster and Globular cluster — 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.