Omega Fornacis

Omega Fornacis, which is Latinized from ω Fornacis, is a wide binary star^[11] system in the southern constellation of Fornax. It has a blue-white hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye as a fifth-magnitude star.^[6] The system lies at a distance of approximately 470 light years from the Sun based on parallax,^[1] and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +10 km/s.^[6]

Omega Fornacis

Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation	Fornax
Right ascension	02h 33m 50.70081s[1]
Declination	−28° 13′ 56.3890″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	4.95 + 7.71[2]
Characteristics
A
Evolutionary stage	main sequence[3]
Spectral type	B9V[4]
U−B color index	−0.13[5]
B−V color index	−0.050±0.007[6]
R−I color index	−0.07[5]
B
Spectral type	A3V[7]
U−B color index	+0.09[8]
B−V color index	+0.17[8]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	+9.7±2.8[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: −13.290±0.243[1] mas/yr Dec.: −5.532±0.305[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	7.0025±0.1527 mas[1]
Distance	470 ± 10 ly (143 ± 3 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	−0.87[6]
Details
A
Mass	3.42±0.11[3] M☉
Radius	2.81[7] R☉
Luminosity	268+72 −57[3] L☉
Temperature	10,910±420[9] K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	85±13[7] km/s
B
Radius	2.2[7] R☉
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	180±29[7] km/s
Other designations
ω For, CD−28°819, HD 16046, HIP 11918, HR 749, SAO 167882, CCDM J02338-2814AB, WDS J02338-2814[10]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

The dual nature of this system was discovered in 1836 by John Herschel. As of 2013, the two components had an angular separation of 11.0″ along a position angle of 246°.^[2] This corresponds to a projected separation of 1,520 AU.^[7]

The magnitude 4.95^[2] primary, designated component A, is a chemically peculiar^[3] B-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of B9V^[4] It has 3.4^[3] times the Sun's mass and is radiating around 268^[3] times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 10,910 K.^[9] Component B, the magnitude 7.71^[2] secondary, is an A-type main-sequence star with a class of A3V.^[7] It is smaller than the primary, but has a higher projected rotational velocity.^[7]