63 Ceti

63 Ceti
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Cetus
Right ascension 02h 11m 35.83534s[1]
Declination −01° 49′ 31.5355″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) +5.93[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type K0III[3]
U−B color index +0.70[2]
B−V color index +0.97[2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)27.69±0.05[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −11.526[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −32.007[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)8.4943 ± 0.0610 mas[1]
Distance384 ± 3 ly
(117.7 ± 0.8 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)0.57[5]
Details[4]
Mass1.85 M☉
Radius11.08+0.33
−0.54[1] R☉
Luminosity63.7±0.6 L☉
Surface gravity (log g)2.59 cgs
Temperature4940 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−0.17 ± 0.06 dex
Rotational velocity (v sin i)1.27 km/s
Age990±50[6] Myr
Other designations
63 Cet, BD−02°375, HD 13468, HIP 10234, HR 639, SAO 129739[7]
Database references
SIMBADdata

63 Ceti is a star in the constellation of Cetus, located just over a degree south of the celestial equator. With an apparent magnitude of about 5.9,[2] the star is barely visible to the naked eye (see Bortle scale) as a dim, orange-hued point of light. Parallax estimates put it at a distance of about 390 light years (129 parsecs) away from the Earth,[1] and it is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 28 km/s.[4]

63 Ceti has a spectral type of K0III,[3] implying an aging K-type giant star. These types of stars are generally reddish-colored stars with spectral types from K to M, with radii that are 10 to 100 times larger than the Sun.[8] 63 Ceti fits this description, with a radius about 11 times larger than the Sun, a mass of about 1.85 times the Sun, and an effective temperature of 4940 K.[4] 63 Ceti is a red clump giant, indicating it is currently at the horizontal branch, a stage in stellar evolution, and is generating energy through core helium fusion. It is close to a billion years old[6] and is radiating 64 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,940 K.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616. A1. arXiv:1804.09365. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. ^ a b c d Johnson, H. L. (1966). "UBVRIJKL Photometry of the Bright Stars". Communications of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. 4: 99. Bibcode:1966CoLPL...4...99J.
  3. ^ a b Houk, N.; Swift, C. (1999). "Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD Stars, Vol. 5". Michigan Spectral Survey. 5: 0. Bibcode:1999MSS...C05....0H.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jones, M. I.; Jenkins, J. S.; Rojo, P.; Melo, C. H. F. (2011). "Study of the impact of the post-MS evolution of the host star on the orbits of close-in planets". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 536: A71. arXiv:1110.6459. Bibcode:2011A&A...536A..71J. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117887. S2CID 55769003.
  5. ^ Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012), "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation", Astronomy Letters, 38 (5): 331, arXiv:1108.4971, Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A, doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015, S2CID 119257644.
  6. ^ a b Gallenne, A.; et al. (August 2018). "Fundamental properties of red-clump stars from long-baseline H-band interferometry". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616: 12. arXiv:1806.09572. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A..68G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833341. S2CID 119331707. A68.
  7. ^ "* 63 Cet". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  8. ^ David Darling. "Red giant". The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved 21 March 2017.