Beta Indi, Latinized from β Indi, is the second brightest star in the southern constellation of Indus. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued point of light 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 3.67. The star is located approximately 600 light years from the Sun, based on parallax, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −5 km/s. The stellar classification of this star is K1II, matching an

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

bright giant A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moore, New York: Oxford University Press ...

. Earlier it had been categorized as an ordinary giant with a class of K0III. It is a hybrid giant with both a hot stellar corona and cool stellar winds, and is a weak X-ray source with a flux measured at . Having consumed the supply of 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 ...

, this star has expanded off the main sequence and now has about 56 times the girth of the Sun. It is 53 million years old with 6.7 times the mass of the Sun. The star is radiating 1,183 times the

Sun's luminosity 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 enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,541 K. β Indi has a

visual companion In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a ...

, CCDM J20548-5827B, with an

of approximately 12.5. As of 2015, it lies at an angular separation of along a

position angle In astronomy, position angle (usually abbreviated PA) is the convention for measuring angles on the sky. The International Astronomical Union defines it as the angle measured relative to the north celestial pole (NCP), turning positive into the ...

of 100° from the brighter component.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beta Indi K-type bright giants Indus (constellation) Indi, Beta PD-58 07788 198700 103227 7986