Beta Camelopardalis
Star in the constellation Camelopardalis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beta Camelopardalis is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Camelopardalis. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinised from β Camelopardalis, and abbreviated Beta Cam or β Cam. This star is bright enough to be faintly visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 4.02.[2] Based upon an annual parallax shift of 3.74 mas as seen from Earth, it is located at a distance of approximately 840 light-years (260 pc) from the Sun. It is moving closer with a radial velocity of â1.90 km/s[4] and is most likely a single[10] star.
This is a yellow-hued G-type supergiant/bright giant with a stellar classification of G1 IbâIIa.[3] It is an estimated 60 million years old and is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 11.7 km/s.[9] This is an unusually high rate of rotation for an evolved star of this type. One possible explanation is that it may have engulfed a nearby giant planet, such as a hot Jupiter.[11]
Beta Camelopardalis has 6.5 times the mass of the Sun[3] and has expanded to around 58 the Sun's radius.[6] The star is radiating 1,592 times the Sun's luminosity from its enlarged photosphere[7] at an effective temperature of 5,300 K.[3] It is a source of X-ray emission.[12]
β Cam has two visual[10] companions: a 7th-magnitude A5-class star at an angular separation of 84 arcseconds; and a 12th-magnitude star at 15 arcseconds.[13]