Kappa Virginis

Kappa Virginis (κ Virginis, abbreviated Kappa Vir, κ Vir), officially named Kang /ˈkæŋ/,^[8] is a solitary star in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.18,^[2] which is sufficiently bright to be seen with the naked eye. Based upon stellar parallax measurements, the distance to this star is about 255 light-years.

κ Virginis
(Kang)

Location of κ Virginis (circled)
Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation	Virgo
Right ascension	14h 12m 53.74538s[1]
Declination	−10° 16′ 25.3340″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	4.180[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type	K2/3 III[3]
U−B color index	+1.457[2]
B−V color index	+1.343[2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	−4.38±0.21[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: +7.25[1] mas/yr Dec.: +139.88[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	12.80±0.25 mas[1]
Distance	255 ± 5 ly (78 ± 2 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	−0.28[5]
Details
Mass	1.46±0.04[6] M☉
Radius	25.41±0.74[6] R☉
Luminosity	229[6] L☉
Surface gravity (log g)	1.83±0.08[6] cgs
Temperature	4,235±20[6] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]	−0.43±0.04[6] dex
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	5.1[4] km/s
Age	9.67±0.97[6] Gyr
Other designations
Kang, 98 Virginis, κ Vir, BD−09°3878, FK5 523, HD 124294, HIP 69427, HR 5315, SAO 158427[7]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

Nomenclature

κ Virginis (Latinised to Kappa Virginis) is the star's Bayer designation.

In Chinese, 亢宿 (Kàng Sù), meaning Neck, refers to an asterism consisting of Kappa Virginis, Iota Virginis, Phi Virginis and Lambda Virginis.^[9] Consequently, Kappa Virginis itself is known as 亢宿一 (Káng Sù yī), "the First Star of Neck".^[10]

In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)^[11] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Kang for this star on 30 June and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.^[8]

Properties

This is an orange-hued K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K2/3 III.^[3] It has about 146% of the mass of the Sun, but at an estimated age of 9.7 billion years it has evolved and expanded to over 25 times the Sun's radius. As a consequence, it shines with around 229 times the solar luminosity. The effective temperature of the star's outer atmosphere is 4,235 K.^[6]