RA 123.8291° · Dec -49.2224° · star
11 more points to reach Rare.
HIP 40430 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 315.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Vel, shines at apparent magnitude 9.5 and has spectral type B+....
Its spectrum reads B+... — a blue-white B-type star, with a surface tens of thousands of degrees hot and a life measured in tens of millions of years.
Look for HIP 40430 in the constellation Vel. At apparent magnitude 9.5, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, HIP 40430 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.
HIP 40430 scores 23 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 11 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Hot blue B-type star, Blue-white star, Gently variable 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.