Beta Canum Venaticorum

light-years
Proper names: Beta Canum Venaticorum, 8 Canum Venaticorum, Asterion
Catalog numbers:
     Gliese (Gl) 475, Henry Draper (HD) 109358, Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) +42°2321, Luyten Half-Second (LHS) 2579, Hipparcos Input Catalog (HIC) 61317, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) 44230, Fifth Fundamental Catalogue (FK5) 470, Hoffleit Bright Star (HR) 4785, New Suspected Variable (NSV) 5725
Age: 4400 million years
Source for age: B. Edvardsson et al., "Chemical Evolution of the Galactic Disc", A&AP 275
Heavy element abundance: 96% of Sol
Standard error in heavy element abundance: 8%
Source for heavy element abundance: Strobel [Fe/H] Determinations
Arity: singular
Right Ascension and Declination: 12h33m44.545s, +41°21'26.89" (epoch 2000.0)
Distance from Sol: 27.30 light-years (8.371 parsecs)
Standard error in distance: 0.69%
Source for distance: Hipparcos
Celestial (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: -20.27, -3.006, 18.04
Galactic (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: -4.737, 4.797, 26.46
Proper motion: 0.764 arcsec/yr (292.2° from north)
Radial Velocity: 6.6 km/sec
Source for proper motion and radial velocity: Gliese
Galactic (U,V,W) velocity components in km/s: -30.73, -3.785, 1.989

What do all these fields mean?


NOTE: This star is actually a close-orbiting binary pair. The data below are for both sub-components of the pair combined.
Spectral class: G0
Luminosity Class: V
Apparent visual magnitude: +4.26
Absolute visual magnitude: +4.65
Visual luminosity: 1.203 x Sol
Color indices: B-V= +0.59, U-B= +0.05, R-I= +0.21
Mass: 1.08 x Sol
Diameter: 1.107 x Sol
Source for diameter: Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (Fracassini+ 1988)
Comfort Zone (visual): 1.097 A.U.s
Orbital period in CZ: 1.1055 years
Tidal index in CZ: 0.818245
Angular size of star in sky in CZ: 0.537807 degrees

light-years
but not more than light-years away
Data for this star system were most recently updated on 4-April-2001.