δ Octantis, Latinised as Delta Octantis, has the distinction of being
Saturn's southern
pole star
A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, nearly aligned with the axis of a rotating astronomical body.
Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude-2 star aligned approximately with its ...
. An orange giant of class K2III,
[ it has 1.2 times the mass of the Sun and about 25 times the Sun's radius. This star is about 4.3 billion years old, which is similar to the age of the Sun.][
]
Naming
In Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
caused by adaptation of the European southern hemisphere constellations into the Chinese system, (), meaning '' Exotic Bird'', refers to an asterism consisting of δ Octantis, ζ Apodis, ι Apodis, β Apodis, γ Apodis, δ1 Apodis, η Apodis, α Apodis and ε Apodis. Consequently, δ Octantis itself is known as (, en, the Fifth Star of Exotic Bird).[AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 29 日]
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References
Octans
Octantis, Delta
CD-83 189
070638
5339
124882
Southern pole stars
K-type giants
Saturn
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