RA 77.9125° · Dec -45.0184° · star
25 more points to reach Anomaly.
Kapteyn's Star is an epic variable star. It lies about 12.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pic, shines at apparent magnitude 8.86 and has spectral type M0V.
Its spectrum reads M0V — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
Look for Kapteyn's Star in the constellation Pic. At apparent magnitude 8.86, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, Kapteyn's Star 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.
Kapteyn's Star 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 9 science badges — Variable star, Nearby (<25 ly), Has a proper name, Cool red M-type star, Main-sequence star, Deep red star, Red dwarf and Gently variable — 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.