11 Ursae Minoris is a single
[ ]star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
located approximately 410 light years away[ in the northern ]circumpolar constellation
A circumpolar star is a star that, as viewed from a given latitude on Earth, never sets below the horizon due to its apparent proximity to one of the celestial poles. Circumpolar stars are therefore visible from said location toward the nearest po ...
of Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor (Latin: 'Lesser Bear', contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, h ...
. The star is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude
Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...
of 5.15.[ It is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric ]radial velocity
The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...
of −17.5 km/s.[
This is an aging K-type ]giant star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence, main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same effective temperature, surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moo ...
with a stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...
of K4 III. It is 1.2 billion years old with twice the mass of the Sun
The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass ...
. As a consequence of exhausting the hydrogen at its core
Core or cores may refer to:
Science and technology
* Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages
* Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding
* Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber
* Core, the centra ...
, the star has expanded to 28 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 258 times the luminosity of the Sun
The solar luminosity (), is a unit of radiant flux ( power emitted in the form of photons) conventionally used by astronomers to measure the luminosity of stars, galaxies and other celestial objects in terms of the output of the Sun.
One nominal ...
from its swollen photosphere
The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated.
The term itself is derived from Ancient Greek roots, φῶς, φωτός/''phos, photos'' meaning "light" and σφαῖρα/''sphaira'' meaning "sphere", in reference to it ...
at an effective temperature
The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surface temperature ...
of 4,358 K.
11 Ursae Minoris is sometimes named ''Pherkard'' or ''Pherkad Minor'', the later name to distinguish it from ''Pherkad'' (Major) which is γ Ursae minoris. It has also been designated as γ1 Ursae minoris, in which case the brighter Pherkad is called γ2 Ursae minoris, but these names are rarely used.[ ''11 Ursae Minoris'' is the ]Flamsteed designation
A Flamsteed designation is a combination of a number and constellation name that uniquely identifies most naked eye stars in the modern constellations visible from southern England. They are named for John Flamsteed who first used them while co ...
.
11 Ursae minoris has a detected planet discovered in August 2009.
Planetary system
11 Ursae minoris b was discovered during a radial velocity
The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...
survey of 62 K type Red giant
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses ()) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around or ...
stars using the 2m Alfred Jensch telescope of the Thuringian State Observatory in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
See also
* HD 32518
HD 32518 (HR 1636) is a solitary star in the northern circumpolar constellation Camelopardalis. It has an apparent magnitude of 6.42, placing it near the max naked eye visibility. Located about 400 light years away, it is receding wi ...
* Lists of exoplanets
These are lists of exoplanets. Most of these were discovered by the Kepler space telescope. There are an additional 2,054 potential exoplanets from Kepler's first mission yet to be confirmed, as well as 978 from its " Second Light" mission and ...
References
External links
*
{{Sky, 15, 17, 05.8886, +, 71, 49, 26.044, 389.8
K-type giants
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Ursa Minor (constellation)
BD+72 0678
Ursae Minoris, 11
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