Zeta Mensae

Zeta Mensae, Latinized from ζ Mensae, is a solitary,^[9] white-hued star in the southern constellation of Mensa. It is faintly visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of +5.64.^[2] Based upon an annual parallax shift of 8.2879 mas as seen from GAIA, it is located around 394 light years from the Sun.^[1] At that distance, the visual magnitude is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.088 due to interstellar dust.^[4] Eggen (1995) listed it as a proper motion candidate for membership in the IC 2391 supercluster.^[10]

Zeta Mensae

Location of ζ Mensae (circled)
Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation	Mensa
Right ascension	06h 40m 02.89197s[1]
Declination	−80° 48′ 48.9391″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	+5.64[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type	A5 III[3][4]
U−B color index	+0.15[2]
B−V color index	+0.20[2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	+7.0±7.4[5] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: −4.801[1] mas/yr Dec.: +53.158[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	8.2879±0.0870 mas[1]
Distance	394 ± 4 ly (121 ± 1 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	+0.09[6]
Details
Radius	4.65±0.27[1] R☉
Luminosity	66.39±0.86[1] L☉
Temperature	7,555±43[4] K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	200[7] km/s
Other designations
ζ Men, CPD−80°196, FK5 264, HD 50506, HIP 31897, HR 2559, SAO 258451[8]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

The stellar classification of A5 III^[3] suggests this is an A-type giant star. It is spinning rapidly, showing a projected rotational velocity of 200 km/s,^[7] giving the star an oblate shape with an equatorial bulge that is an estimated 26% larger than the polar radius.^[3] The star is radiating about 69^[11] times the Sun's luminosity from its photosphere at an effective temperature of around 7,555 K.^[4] It displays a faint infrared excess at a wavelength of 18μm, indicating that it is being orbited by a debris disk.^[12]