M Centauri
Star in the constellation Centaurus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
M Centauri (M Cen) is a binary star in the constellation Centaurus. It is approximately 260 light-years from Earth.
 | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus[1] |
| Right ascension | 13h 46m 39.378s[2] |
| Declination | −51° 25′ 57.95″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +4.63[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | G8/K0III[4] |
| B−V color index | +0.955[1] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | −15.97±2.25[5] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +10.00(42)[2] mas/yr Dec.: −27.62(34)[2] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 12.42±0.48 mas[2] |
| Distance | 260 ± 10 ly (81 ± 3 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | +0.11[1] |
| Orbit[6] | |
| Primary | M Centauri A |
| Name | M Centauri B |
| Period (P) | 437 days |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 6.45 mas |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.13 |
| Inclination (i) | 48.2° |
| Longitude of the node (Ω) | 280.3° |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2424163.0 |
| Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 58.6° |
| Other designations | |
| M Cen, CD−50°8017, GC 18607, HD 119834, HIP 67234, HR 5172, SAO 241157, CCDM J13467-5126A[7] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
M Centauri is a yellow G-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +4.64. It is a spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 437 days.
This star appears next to the globular cluster NGC 5286 in the sky.[7]
