Hamal
Star in the constellation Aries / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the star. For other uses, see Hamal (disambiguation).
Hamal /ˈhæməl/,[11] designated Alpha Arietis (α Arietis, abbreviated Alpha Ari, α Ari), is the brightest star in the northern zodiacal constellation of Aries.[4][12]
Quick Facts Constellation, Right ascension ...
Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
---|---|
Constellation | Aries |
Right ascension | 02h 07m 10.40570s[1] |
Declination | +23° 27′ 44.7032″[1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 2.00[2] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | K1IIIb |
U−B color index | +1.13[2] |
B−V color index | +1.15[2] |
V−R color index | +0.7[3] |
R−I color index | +0.62[4] |
Variable type | Suspected[5] |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | −14.2 ± 0.9[6] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: +188.55[1] mas/yr Dec.: −148.08[1] mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | 49.56 ± 0.25 mas[1] |
Distance | 65.8 ± 0.3 ly (20.2 ± 0.1 pc) |
Absolute magnitude (MV) | +0.47 ± 0.04[7] |
Details | |
Mass | 1.5 ± 0.2[8] M☉ |
Radius | 14.9 ± 0.3[9] R☉ |
Luminosity (bolometric) | 91 ± 6[9] L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 2.57[9] cgs |
Temperature | 4,480[9] K |
Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.25[9] dex |
Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 3.44[8] km/s |
Age | 3.4 ± 1.9[10] Gyr |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
Close
With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.0,[2] it is the mean 50th-brightest star in the night sky. Based upon parallax measurements made with the Hipparcos astrometry satellite,[13][14] Hamal is about 65.8 light-years (20.2 parsecs) from Earth.[1] It is a giant star that may host an orbiting planet with a mass greater than Jupiter.[8]