RA 101.4998° · Dec -20.7542° · openngc
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25 more points to reach Anomaly.
NGC 2287 is an epic cluster. It lies about 2,398.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation CMa and shines at apparent magnitude 4.5.
An open cluster: a few hundred stars born together out of one collapsing cloud, still drifting along in loose formation.
Look for NGC 2287 in the constellation CMa. At apparent magnitude 4.5, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 2287 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 2287 scores 53 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 25 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 7 science badges — Star cluster, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Messier object, Bright deep-sky object, Open cluster, Big on the sky and Bright enough for the unaided eye — 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.