Eta Antliae (η Ant, η Antliae) is the
Bayer designation
A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. ...
for a
double star
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 bi ...
in the southern
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of
Antlia. The brighter component has an
apparent visual magnitude of 5.222,
[ making it visible to the naked eye. ]Parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
measurements of the system yield a distance estimate of from Earth.[
The main component has 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 F1 V,[ which indicates that it is an F-type main sequence star. This star has 55% more mass than the Sun.][ It shines with 6.6][ times the Sun's luminosity 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 7,132 K.[ This heat gives it the yellow-white glow of an F-type star.][ It has a faint companion located 31 ]arcsecond
A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...
s away with an apparent magnitude of +11.3. Most likely this pair form a binary star
A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...
system.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eta Antliae
086629
Antliae, Eta
Antlia
F-type giants
048926
3947
Durchmusterung objects