RA 208.1789° · Dec -55.5411° · star
15 more points to reach Epic.
HD 120738 is a rare variable star. It lies about 2,117.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen, shines at apparent magnitude 9.7 and has spectral type B9IV.
Its spectrum reads B9IV — 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 HD 120738 in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 9.7, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, HD 120738 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 120738 scores 35 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 15 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Hot blue B-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), Strongly 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.