Pollux

light-years
Proper names: Pollux, Beta Geminorum, 78 Geminorum
Catalog numbers:
     Gliese (Gl) 286, Henry Draper (HD) 62509, Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) +28°1463, Luyten Half-Second (LHS) 1945, Hipparcos Input Catalog (HIC) 37826, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) 79666, Fifth Fundamental Catalogue (FK5) 295, Hoffleit Bright Star (HR) 2990, New Suspected Variable (NSV) 3712
Heavy element abundance: 84% of Sol
Standard error in heavy element abundance: 18%
Source for heavy element abundance: Strobel [Fe/H] Determinations
Arity: singular
Right Ascension and Declination: 7h45m18.946s, +28°1'34.26" (epoch 2000.0)
Distance from Sol: 33.72 light-years (10.34 parsecs)
Standard error in distance: 0.8913%
Source for distance: Hipparcos
Celestial (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: -13.20, 26.67, 15.84
Galactic (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: -30.05, -6.723, 13.72
Proper motion: 0.628 arcsec/yr (265.3° from north)
Radial Velocity: 3.6 km/sec
Source for proper motion and radial velocity: Gliese
Galactic (U,V,W) velocity components in km/s: -16.74, 4.305, -25.72

What do all these fields mean?


Spectral class: K0
Luminosity Class: IIIb
Apparent visual magnitude: +1.16
Absolute visual magnitude: +1.09
Visual luminosity: 31.95 x Sol
Color indices: B-V= +1.00, U-B= +0.85, R-I= +0.35
Mass: 2.8 x Sol
Source for mass: Hatzes and Cochran, Astrophysical Journal vol. 413 (1993)
Diameter: 7.999 x Sol
Source for diameter: Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (Fracassini+ 1988)
Comfort Zone (visual): 5.652 A.U.s
Orbital period in CZ: 8.03095 years
Tidal index in CZ: 0.015505
Angular size of star in sky in CZ: 0.754429 degrees

light-years
but not more than light-years away
Data for this star system were most recently updated on 30-May-2003.