RA 204.8662° · Dec -63.9857° · star
6 more points to reach Rare.
HD 118551 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 2,296.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen, shines at apparent magnitude 9.37 and has spectral type A7IV/V.
Its spectrum reads A7IV/V — 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 118551 in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 9.37, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, HD 118551 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 118551 scores 28 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), White A-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), 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.