Gamma Mensae, Latinized from γ Mensae, is an orange-hued

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 ...

system 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 ...

Mensa Mensa may refer to: * Mensa International, an organization for people with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) * Mensa (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname * Mensa (constellation), a constellation in the southern sky * Men ...

. The apparent visual magnitude of 5.19 indicates it is dimly visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual

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 ...

shift of 7.70

mas Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * Más ( ...

as seen from the Earth, it is about 102

light year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

s from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.033 due to interstellar dust. The system shows the high velocity kinematic properties of a population II star, but has Sun-like abundances of most elements. This is a probable

astrometric binary 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 with poorly constrained

orbital element Orbital elements are the parameters required to uniquely identify a specific orbit. In celestial mechanics these elements are considered in two-body systems using a Kepler orbit. There are many different ways to mathematically describe the same ...

s. The visible member, component A, is an evolved K-type giant star 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 ...

K2 III At about 10.6 billion years of age, it has nearly the same mass as the Sun but has expanded to five times the Sun's radius. The star shines with 21 times the Sun's luminosity from its enlarged

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 4,491 K.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamma Mensae K-type giants Astrometric binaries Mensa (constellation) Mensae, Gamma Durchmusterung objects 037763 025918

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...