RA 170.4616° · Dec 45.3324° · star
4 more points to reach Uncommon.
HD 98696 is a common star. It lies about 484.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation UMa, shines at apparent magnitude 8.09 and has spectral type A3III.
Its spectrum reads A3III — an A-type star: white-hot, typically about twice the Sun's mass, and the class most of the sky's famous bright stars belong to.
Look for HD 98696 in the constellation UMa. At apparent magnitude 8.09, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, HD 98696 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.
HD 98696 scores 18 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Star, Never sets (northern circumpolar), White A-type star and Giant 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.