Lambda Caeli, Latinized from λ Caeli, is a

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 ...

in the

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 ...

Caelum. It is also known by its designations HD 30202 and HR 1518. This star is a challenge to view with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 6.24. Based on

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, Lambda Caeli is known to be around 700

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 distant from the Sun, but is drifting closer with 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 ...

of −4 km/s. This object is an aging 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 ...

of K3/4III. Having exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core, it has cooled and expanded; now having 31 times the

radius of the Sun Solar radius is a unit of distance used to express the size of stars in astronomy relative to the Sun. The solar radius is usually defined as the radius to the layer in the Sun's photosphere where the optical depth equals 2/3: :1\,R_ = 6.957\t ...

. It is radiating 274 times the Sun's luminosity 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 4,189 K.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambda Caeli K-type giants Caelum Caeli, Lambda Durchmusterung objects 030202 021998

1518 __NOTOC__ Year 1518 ( MDXVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Exceptions France In France, the year 1518 lasted from 4 April 1518 to 23 April 1519. Since Constantine (aro ...