Beta Ursae Minoris
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 Location of β Ursae Minoris (circled) |
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| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ursa Minor |
| Right ascension | 14h 50m 42.32580s[1] |
| Declination | +74° 09′ 19.8142″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 2.08[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | K4 III[3] |
| U−B color index | +1.78[2] |
| B−V color index | +1.47[2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +16.96[4] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −32.61[1] mas/yr Dec.: +11.42[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 24.91 ± 0.12[1] mas |
| Distance | 130.9 ± 0.6 ly (40.1 ± 0.2 pc) |
| Details | |
| Mass | 2.2 ± 0.3[5] M☉ |
| Radius | 42.06 ± 0.91[6] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 390 ± 25[6] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 1.83[6] cgs |
| Temperature | 4,030[6] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | –0.29[6] dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 8[7] km/s |
| Other designations | |
Beta Ursae Minoris (β UMi, β Ursae Minoris) is the brightest star in the bowl of the "Little Dipper" (which is part of the constellation Ursa Minor), and only slightly fainter than Polaris, the northern pole star and brightest star in Ursa Minor. It has the traditional name Kochab. Kochab is 16 degrees from Polaris and has an apparent visual magnitude of 2.08.[2] The distance to this star can be deduced from the parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos, yielding a value of 130.9 light-years (40.1 parsecs).[1]
Kochab and its neighbor Pherkad served as twin pole stars, circling the North Pole, from 1500 BC until 500 AD. Ancient Egyptian astronomers referred to them as "The Indestructibles".[9] Neither star was as proximitous to the celestial north pole as Polaris is now.[10] Today, they are sometimes referred to as the "Guardians of the Pole."[10] Due to precession of the equinoxes, the previous holder of the title was Thuban, and the next was the present-day Polaris. This succession of pole stars is a result of Earth's precessional motion.
Amateur astronomers can use Kochab as a very precise guide for setting up a telescope, as the celestial north pole is located 43 arcminutes away from Polaris, very close to the line connecting Polaris with Kochab.[11]
Properties
This is a giant star with a stellar classification of K4 III.[3] It is 130 times more luminous than the Sun. Kochab has reached a state in its evolution where the outer envelope has expanded to 42[6] times the girth of the Sun. This enlarged atmosphere is radiating 390[6] times as much luminosity as the Sun from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 4,030 K.[6] This heat gives the star the orange-hued glow of a K-type star.[12]
By modelling this star based upon evolutionary tracks, the mass of this star can be estimated as 2.2 ± 0.3 that of the Sun. A mass estimate using the interferometrically-measured radius of this star and its spectroscopically-determined surface gravity yields 2.5 ± 0.9 solar masses.[5] The star is known to undergo periodic variations in luminosity over roughly 4.6 days, with the astroseismic frequencies depending sensitively on the star's mass. From this, a much lower mass estimate of 1.3 ± 0.3 solar is reached.[5]
Planetary companion
Estimated to be around 2.95 billion years old, give or take 1 billion years, Kochab was announced to have a planetary companion around 6.1 times as massive as Jupiter with an orbit of 522 days.[13]
Etymology
The origin of the name Kochab appeared in the Renaissance and its meaning is uncertain; it may be from Arabic الكوكب al-kawkab or Hebrew כוכב kōkhāv, both of which mean "star", or more likely derived from Alrucaba or Rucaba, a name applied to Theta Ursae Majoris.[14]
In Chinese, 北極 (Běi Jí), meaning North Pole, refers to an asterism consisting of β Ursae Minoris, γ Ursae Minoris, 5 Ursae Minoris, 4 Ursae Minoris and Σ 1694.[15] Consequently, β Ursae Minoris itself is known as 北極二 (Běi Jí èr, English: the Second Star of North Pole.),[16] representing 帝 (Dì), meaning Emperor.[17]
References
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- ↑ article "Planet Earth: Ancient Astronomy Calendars, Navigation, Predictions"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ (Chinese) 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
- ↑ (Chinese)北極 (星官)
- ↑ (Chinese) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表, Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.
| Preceded by | Pole Star 1900 BC–500 |
Succeeded by Polaris |
