Beta Cancri
Encyclopedia
Beta Cancri (β Cnc, β Cancri) is the brightest star
in the constellation
Cancer
. It has the traditional name Tarf or Al Tarf (Altarf), certainly a derivation from Arabic
الطرف aṭ-ṭarf "the eye" or طرفة aṭ-ṭarfah "the glance (of Leo)". It is approximately 290 light years
from Earth
.
The primary component, β Cancri A, is an orange K-type
giant
with an apparent magnitude
of +3.50 and absolute magnitude
of -1.25 (visual). It has a faint, fourteenth magnitude companion, β Cancri B, located 29 arcseconds from the primary.
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Cancer
Cancer (constellation)
Cancer is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for crab and it is commonly represented as such. Its symbol is . Cancer is small and its stars are faint...
. It has the traditional name Tarf or Al Tarf (Altarf), certainly a derivation from Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
الطرف aṭ-ṭarf "the eye" or طرفة aṭ-ṭarfah "the glance (of Leo)". It is approximately 290 light years
Light Years
Light Years is the seventh studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 25 September 2000 by Parlophone and Mushroom Records. The album's style was indicative of her return to "mainstream pop dance tunes"....
from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
The primary component, β Cancri A, is an orange K-type
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
giant
Giant star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence star of the same surface temperature. Typically, giant stars have radii between 10 and 100 solar radii and luminosities between 10 and 1,000 times that of the Sun. Stars still more luminous than giants are...
with an apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of +3.50 and absolute magnitude
Absolute magnitude
Absolute magnitude is the measure of a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. it is also the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 32.6 light years away from Earth...
of -1.25 (visual). It has a faint, fourteenth magnitude companion, β Cancri B, located 29 arcseconds from the primary.
See also
- Lists of stars in the constellation Cancer
- Class K Stars
- Barium starBarium starBarium stars are G to K class giants, whose spectra indicate an overabundance of s-process elements by the presence of singly ionized barium, Ba II, at λ 455.4nm. Barium stars also show enhanced spectral features of carbon, the bands of the molecules CH, CN and C2...