RA 122.3831° · Dec -47.3366° · star
19 more points to reach Mythic.
Gam2Vel is an anomaly variable star. It lies about 1,117 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vel, shines at apparent magnitude 1.75 and has spectral type WC8 + O9I.
Its spectrum reads WC8 + O9I — a Wolf-Rayet star: a stellar monster shedding its own outer layers in a ferocious wind, on its way to a supernova.
Look for Gam2Vel in the constellation Vel. At apparent magnitude 1.75, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Gam2Vel 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.
Gam2Vel scores 101 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the anomaly tier. Another 19 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 9 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Naked-eye visible, Wolf-Rayet star (shedding itself), Supergiant, Blue-white star, Blindingly luminous (Mv < −5) and Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) — 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.