60 Andromedae

This article is about b Andromedae and is not to be confused with β Andromedae.

60 Andromedae is a star system in the northern constellation of Andromeda, located to the east-northeast of Gamma Andromedae. 60 Andromedae is the Flamsteed designation (abbreviated 60 And), though the star also bears the Bayer designation b Andromedae.^[11] It is bright enough to be seen by the naked eye on a dark night, having an apparent visual magnitude of 4.82.^[3] Based upon parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 620 light-years (190 parsecs) from Earth.^[2] The system is drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of –46 km/s.^[5]

60 Andromedae

Location of 60 Andromedae (circled)
Observation data Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation	Andromeda[1]
Right ascension	02h 13m 13.322s[2]
Declination	+44° 13′ 53.93″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)	+4.82[3]
Characteristics
Spectral type	K3.5 III Ba0.4[4]
U−B color index	+1.74[3]
B−V color index	+1.48[3]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	–46.3[5] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: –20.90 mas/yr[6] Dec.: –14.46 mas/yr[6]
Parallax (π)	5.2634±0.2576 mas[2]
Distance	620 ± 30 ly (190 ± 9 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	−1.19[1]
Orbit[7]
Period (P)	748.2±0.4 days
Semi-major axis (a)	2.4±0.6 mas
Eccentricity (e)	0.80
Inclination (i)	54.1±19.9°
Longitude of the node (Ω)	344.5±10.3°
Periastron epoch (T)	37886±11 HJD
Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary)	358±6°
Semi-amplitude (K1) (primary)	4.88 km/s
Details
60 And A
Mass	2.0+0.7 −0.3[8] M☉
Luminosity	685[1] L☉
Surface gravity (log g)	1.70±0.44[9] cgs
Temperature	4,054±42[9] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]	−0.13±0.12[9] dex
Age	2.02[10] Gyr
60 And B
Mass	0.5±0.1[8] M☉
Other designations
b Andromedae[11], BD+43 447, HD 13520, HIP 10340, HR 643, SAO 37867, PPM 44882, IRAS 02100+4359[12]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

This system is known to have three components. The primary is an aging giant star with a stellar classification of K3.5 III Ba0.4, meaning that an overabundance of singly-ionized barium (Ba⁺ ion) is observed in the spectrum of the star, making it a barium star. This star is about 2^[10] billion years old with double the mass of the Sun.^[8] It is radiating 685^[1] times the luminosity of the Sun from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,054 K.^[9] The secondary component is likely a degenerate white dwarf with an orbital period of 748.2 days and an eccentricity of 0.34. There is a third component at an angular separation of 0.22 arcseconds.^[4]