Chi2 Fornacis

Chi² Fornacis, Latinized from χ² Fornacis, is a solitary star^[15] located in the southern constellation Fornax, the furnace. It is faintly visible to the naked eye as an orange-hued point of light with an apparent magnitude of 5.70. Gaia DR3 parallax measurements imply a distance of 476 light-years and it is currently receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of approximately 30 km/s.^[6] At its current distance, Chi² Fornacis' brightness is diminished by an interstellar extinction of 0.11 magnitudes^[16] and it has an absolute magnitude of 0.00.^[7]

For other stars with a similar Bayer designation, see χ Fornacis.

χ² Fornacis

Location of χ2 Fornacis (circled)
Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation	Fornax
Right ascension	03h 27m 33.42119s[1]
Declination	−35° 40′ 52.7728″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	5.70±0.01[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type	K2 III[3]
B−V color index	+1.29[4]
Variable type	suspected[5]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	30.0±4.3[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: +77.064 mas/yr[1] Dec.: +5.989 mas/yr[1]
Parallax (π)	6.8558±0.0446 mas[1]
Distance	476 ± 3 ly (145.9 ± 0.9 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	0.00[7]
Details
Mass	1.18[8] M☉
Radius	23.58±1.19[9] R☉
Luminosity	194+4 −3[1] L☉
Surface gravity (log g)	1.83[8] cgs
Temperature	4,477±122[10] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]	+0.02[11] dex
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	<1.0[12] km/s
Other designations
χ2 For, 91 G. Fornacis[13], NSV 15697, CD−36°1306, CPD−36°355, FK5 2244, GC 4129, HD 21574, HIP 16112, HR 1054, SAO 194312, TIC 142889216[14]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

Chi² Fornacis is an old-disk star^[11] and it has a stellar classification of K2 III.^[3] The class indicates that it is an evolved K-type giant that has ceased hydrogen fusion at its core and left the main sequence. It has 118% the mass of the Sun^[8] but it has expanded to 23.58 times the radius of the Sun.^[9] It radiates 194 times the luminosity of the Sun^[1] from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,477 K.^[10] Chi² Fornacis is slightly metal enriched with a near-solar iron abundance of [Fe/H] = +0.02.^[11] It spins too slowly for its projected rotational velocity to be measured accurately, having a projected rotational velocity lower than 1.0 km/s.^[12]

The star was observed to be variable in infrared light during a 1991 IRAS survey for galaxy clusters.^[17] However, its variability in optical light is unknown. In addition, subsequent observations have not confirmed the variability in infrared and optical light.^[18] The lenticular galaxy NGC 1380 lies 2 degrees north-northeast of Chi² Fornacis.^[19]