Beta Chamaeleontis

Beta Chamaeleontis
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Chamaeleon
Right ascension 12h 18m 20.82459s
Declination −79° 18 44.0710
Apparent magnitude (V) 4.24 (4.24 to 4.30)
Characteristics
Spectral type B4 V
U−B color index −0.52
B−V color index −0.13
R−I color index −0.10
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)+23.0 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −37.97 mas/yr
Dec.: +11.15 mas/yr
Parallax (π)10.93±0.15 mas
Distance298 ± 4 ly
(91 ± 1 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−0.57
Details
Mass5.0±0.1 M
Radius2.84±0.13 R
Luminosity212 L
Surface gravity (log g)4.03±0.05 cgs
Temperature14,495±157 K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)255 km/s
Age22.7±7.2 Myr
Other designations
α Oct, CD−78°495, CPD−78°741, FK5 459, GC 16775, HD 106911, HIP 60000, HR 4674, SAO 256924, PPM 371459
Database references
SIMBADdata

Beta Chamaeleontis, Latinized from β Chamaeleontis, is the third-brightest star in the southern constellation of Chamaeleon. A solitary, suspected variable star, it is visible to the naked eye as a faint blue-white point of light with an apparent visual magnitude that has been measured ranging between 4.24 and 4.30. Parallax measurements yield a distance estimate of 298 light years from the Sun, and it is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +23 km/s.

This is a B-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of B4 V that is generating energy through core hydrogen fusion. It has been catalogued both as a Be star and a normal star. This object is about 23 million years old with a high projected rotational velocity of 255 km/s. The rapid rotation is creating an equatorial bulge that is 12% larger than the polar radius. The star has five times the mass of the Sun and 2.8 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 212 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 14,495 K.