BC Canis Minoris
Star in the constellation Canis Minor
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BC Canis Minoris is a variable star in the equatorial constellation of Canis Minor. It has a reddish hue and is just barely visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 6.30. The distance to this object is approximately 568 light years based on parallax, but it is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −67 km/s.
  | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox ICRS | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Canis Minor[1] |
| Right ascension | 07h 52m 07.18978s[2] |
| Declination | +03° 16′ 38.4369″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.30[1] (6.14 to 6.42)[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | AGB[4] |
| Spectral type | M4/5III[5] |
| B−V color index | 1.464±0.015[1] |
| Variable type | SRb[3] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | −66.91±0.24[1] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +49.643[2] mas/yr Dec.: −78.206[2] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 5.7446±0.0689 mas[2] |
| Distance | 568 ± 7 ly (174 ± 2 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 0.36[1] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 2.2[6] M☉ |
| Radius | 83 ± 7[7][a] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 820±90[7] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 1.82[6] cgs |
| Temperature | 3,400±100[7] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.38[6] dex |
| Age | 2.5[2] Gyr |
| Other designations | |
| BC CMi, BD+03°1824, HD 64052, HIP 38406, HR 3061, SAO 116054[8] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
In 1962, Alan William James Cousins announced that HR 3061 is a variable star.[10] It was given its variable star designation, BC Canis Minoris, in 1975.[11] It is an aging red giant star currently on the asymptotic giant branch[4] with a stellar classification of M4/5III.[5] It is a semi-regular variable of subtype SRb[3] with measured pulsation periods of 27.7, 143.3 and 208.3 days, and an average visual magnitude of 6.30.[12] With the supply of hydrogen at its core exhausted, it has cooled and expanded off the main sequence and now has around 83 ± 7 times the girth of the Sun.[a] On average, the star is radiating about 820 times the luminosity of the Sunfrom its swollen photosphere at an effective temperature of 3,400 K.[7]
Notes
- Calculated, using the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the star's effective temperature and luminosity, with respect to the solar nominal effective temperature of 5,772 K:
