RA 141.8969° · Dec -8.6586° · star
14 more points to reach Epic.
Alphard is a rare star. It lies about 180.3 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Hya, shines at apparent magnitude 1.99 and has spectral type K3III.
Its spectrum reads K3III — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
Look for Alphard in the constellation Hya. At apparent magnitude 1.99, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Alphard 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.
Alphard scores 36 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 14 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Star, Naked-eye visible, Has a proper name, Orange K-type star, Giant star and Deep red 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.