Zeta Arae (ζ Ara, ζ Arae) is the third-brightest

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 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 ...

Ara ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

. The

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 this star is 3.1, which can be seen from suburban skies in the southern hemisphere. From the

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, it is located at a distance of from Earth. The

spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

of this star matches 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 III. The

luminosity class In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting the ...

of 'III' indicates this is a

giant star A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence, main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same effective temperature, surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moo ...

that has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and

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 t ...

away from the

main sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...

. It is radiating energy from its outer atmosphere 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 4,246 K which is what gives it the orange hue of a K-type star. This star displays an excess of infrared emission that may indicate circumstellar matter. 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 va ...

, (), meaning ''

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

'', refers to an asterism consisting of ζ Arae, ε¹ Arae, γ Arae, δ Arae and η Arae. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are often a ...

for ζ Arae itself is (, en, the Fifth Star of Tortoise.)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 1 日
/ref> Allen called it ''Tseen Yin'' , together with δ Arae, from the Chinese 天陰 (Mandarin pronunciation ''tiānyīn'') "dark sky". However, 天陰 is in Aries. Chevalier, S., and Tsuchihashi, P., (1911): "Catalogue d'Étoiles fixes, observés a Pekin sous l' Empereur Kien Long (Qianlong (Chien-Lung)), XVIII^e siecle", ''Annales de l'Observatoire Astronomique de Zô-Sé''. (Yi Shi Tong) (1981): . so Allen probably confused constellation "

" with "

Ari Ari may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ari (name), a name in various languages, including a list of people and fictional characters * Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), Jewish rabbinical scholar and mystic known also as Ari * Ari (foot ...

References

External links

HR 6285

Image Zeta Arae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeta Arae Guī wǔ 152786 Arae, Zeta Ara (constellation) K-type giants 083081 6285 Durchmusterung objects 9581