RA 211.6709° · Dec -36.3700° · star
5 more points to reach Uncommon.
Menkent is a common star. It lies about 58.8 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cen, shines at apparent magnitude 2.06 and has spectral type K0IIIb.
Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Look for Menkent in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 2.06, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Like any astronomical target, Menkent 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.
Menkent scores 19 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Star, Naked-eye visible and Has a proper name — 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.