RA 84.0534° · Dec -1.2019° · star
1 more point to reach Uncommon.
Alnilam is a common variable star. It lies about 1,976.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ori, shines at apparent magnitude 1.69 and has spectral type B0Ia.
Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Look for Alnilam in the constellation Ori. At apparent magnitude 1.69, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Alnilam 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.
Alnilam scores 23 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 3 science badges — Variable star, Distant (>1000 ly) and Has a proper name — 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.