Procyon
Star in the constellation Canis Minor / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Procyon (/ˈproʊsi.ɒn/)[15] is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor and usually the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34.[3] It has the Bayer designation α Canis Minoris, which is Latinized to Alpha Canis Minoris, and abbreviated α CMi or Alpha CMi, respectively. As determined by the European Space Agency Hipparcos astrometry satellite,[16] this system lies at a distance of just 11.46 light-years (3.51 parsecs),[2] and is therefore one of Earth's nearest stellar neighbors.
Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Canis Minor |
Pronunciation | /ˈproʊsi.ɒn/ PROH-see-on[1] |
Right ascension | 07h 39m 18.11950s[2] |
Declination | +05° 13′ 29.9552″[2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 0.34[3] (A) / 10.7[4] (B) |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | F5 IV–V[3] + DQZ[5] |
U−B color index | +0.00[6] |
B−V color index | +0.42[6] |
Variable type | suspected[7] (A) |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | −3.2[8] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: −714.590[2] mas/yr Dec.: −1036.80[2] mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | 284.56 ± 1.26 mas[2] |
Distance | 11.46 ± 0.05 ly (3.51 ± 0.02 pc) |
Absolute magnitude (MV) | 2.66/13.0[4] |
Details | |
Procyon A | |
Mass | 1.499±0.031[9] M☉ |
Radius | 2.048±0.025[3] R☉ |
Luminosity | 6.93[3] L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 3.96[3] cgs |
Temperature | 6,530±50[3] K |
Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.05±0.03[3] dex |
Rotation | 23 days[10] |
Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 3.16±0.50[3] km/s |
Age | 1.87±0.13[9] Gyr |
Procyon B | |
Mass | 0.602±0.015[5] M☉ |
Radius | 0.01234±0.00032[5] R☉ |
Luminosity | 0.00049[11] L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 8.0[5] cgs |
Temperature | 7,740±50[5] K |
Age | 1.37[11] Gyr |
Position (relative to Procyon A) | |
Component | Procyon B |
Angular distance | maximum 5″ |
Orbit[12] | |
Companion | Procyon B |
Period (P) | 40.840 ± 0.022 yr |
Semi-major axis (a) | 4.3075 ± 0.0016″ |
Eccentricity (e) | 0.39785 ± 0.00025 |
Inclination (i) | 31.408 ± 0.050° |
Longitude of the node (Ω) | 100.683 ± 0.095° |
Periastron epoch (T) | 1,968.076 ± 0.023 |
Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 89.23 ± 0.11° |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | The system |
A | |
B |
A binary star system, Procyon consists of a white-hued main-sequence star of spectral type F5 IV–V, designated component A, in orbit with a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DQZ,[5] named Procyon B. The pair orbit each other with a period of 40.84 years and an eccentricity of 0.4.