RA 72.8436° · Dec 18.8399° · star
3 more points to reach Rare.
97 Tau is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 167.2 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Tau, shines at apparent magnitude 5.08 and has spectral type A7IV-V.
Its spectrum reads A7IV-V — an A-type star: white-hot, typically about twice the Sun's mass, and the class most of the sky's famous bright stars belong to.
Look for 97 Tau in the constellation Tau. At apparent magnitude 5.08, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, 97 Tau 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.
97 Tau scores 31 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Naked-eye visible, On the zodiac, White A-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) 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.