56 Ceti
K-type star in the constellation Cetus
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56 Ceti is a single[11] star located in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. Not found in the original Bayer catalogue, it was given the Bayer-like designation Upsilon1 Ceti by Flamsteed[12] to distinguish it from Bayer's Upsilon Ceti, which Flamsteed designated Upsilon2 or 59 Ceti. In 1801, J. E. Bode included this designation in his Uranographia,[13] but the superscripted designations Upsilon1 and Upsilon2 are not in general use today. 56 Ceti is the Flamsteed designation for this star.
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cetus |
| Right ascension | 01h 56m 40.20252s[1] |
| Declination | −22° 31′ 36.4249″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.85[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | red giant branch[1] |
| Spectral type | K3III[3] |
| U−B color index | +1.67[4] |
| B−V color index | +1.434±0.005[5] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +27.21±0.18[1] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +60.374[1] mas/yr Dec.: −24.635[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 7.3290±0.1264 mas[1] |
| Distance | 445 ± 8 ly (136 ± 2 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −0.25[5] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.27[6] M☉ |
| Radius | 35.0[7] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 453[1] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 1.88[6] cgs |
| Temperature | 4,218[7] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.18[6] dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 1.3[8] km/s |
| Age | 2.9[9] Myr |
| Other designations | |
| 56 Cet, CD−23°721, GC 2343, HD 11930, HIP 9061, HR 565, SAO 167416[10] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
This star is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued point of light with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.85.[2] It is located about 445 light years from the Sun, based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +27 km/s.[1] 56 Ceti is an aging giant star with a stellar classification of K3III,[3] having exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core and expanded to 35 times the Sun's radius.[7] It is radiating 453 times the luminosity of the Sun[1] from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,217 K.[7]