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AF Columbae
Star in the constellation of Columba From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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AF Columbae, also known as HD 42682, is a solitary,[17] red hued variable star located in the southern constellation Columba, the dove. It has an apparent magnitude that fluctuates between 5.6 and 5.71.[3] Nevertheless, it is faintly visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements from the Gaia spacecraft place the star relatively far at a distance of 820 light years.[2] However, it is approaching the Solar System with a poorly constrained radial velocity of −19 km/s.[8]
AF Columbae is a red giant that is currently on the asymptotic giant branch,[4] generating energy via hydrogen and helium shell burning. It has a stellar classification of M2 II/III,[5] indicating an evolved M-type star with the blended luminosity class of a regular giant star and a bright giant. At present it has 1.54 times the mass of the Sun[10] but has expanded to 148 times its girth.[11] It shines with a bolometric luminosity 1,853 times that of the Sun[12] from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 3,611 K.[14]
The star was discovered to be a variable star when the Hipparcos data was analyzed. It was given its variable star designation, AF Columbae, in 1999.[18] The object is classified as a slow irregular variable of subtype Lb.[7] Tabur et al. (2009) found 5 periods for AF Columbae. Most of them last for 40-50 days, while one of them last for 112 days.[19] It appears to be a runaway star, having an unusually high peculiar velocity of 93.2+4.6
−5.2 km/s.[20]
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References
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