Eta Boötis
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Observation data Epoch J2000 |
|
---|---|
Constellation (pronunciation) |
Boötes |
Right ascension | 13h 54m 41.1s |
Declination | +18° 23′ 55″ |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 2.68 |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | G0 IV |
U-B color index | 0.20 |
B-V color index | 0.58 |
Variable type | None |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | 1.0 km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: -60.95 mas/yr Dec.: -358.1 mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | 88.17 ± 0.75 mas |
Distance | 37 ± 0.3 ly (11.34 ± 0.1 pc) |
Absolute magnitude (MV) | 2.38 |
Other designations | |
Eta Boötis (η Boo / η Boötis) is a star in the constellation Boötes. It also has the traditional names Muphrid or Mufrid (Arabic for "the particular") or Saak and the Flamsteed designation 8 Boötis.
Based on its spectra, Eta Boötis has a significant excess of elements heavier than hydrogen. In fact the ratio of iron to hydrogen is considered close to the upper limit for dwarf stars in the galactic disk.
The star has also been identified as a spectroscopic binary with a period of 494 days. However the companion has not been resolved through speckle interferometery.
The star appears close to the prominent star Arcturus (Alpha Bootis) in Earth's sky, and Arcturus is in fact its closest stellar neighbor, as both stars are nearly identical in distance from the Sol system. The two stars are about 3.24 light years apart [1], and each would appear brightly in the other's sky. Arcturus would appear as roughly magnitude -5.2 (about 120 times brighter than it appears from Earth, or close to twice the brightness of Venus) in the night sky of a hypothetical planet orbiting Muphrid, while Muphrid would appear at about magnitude -2.5 in the sky of a hypothetical planet orbiting Arcturus, or over twice the brightness of Sirius in our night sky.
[edit] Eta Boötis in fiction
In the RPG 2300ad, published by GDW, Eta Boötis is an important system, with a habitable moon named Aurore orbiting a Brown dwarf which orbits Eta Boötis. Due to the limited distance starships can travel in this fictional universe, Eta Boötis lies at juncture in the frontier with an alien race called Kafers. 2300ad was designed with the gliese 2 starmap, now outdated. The same starflight rules applied to the gliese 3 starmap would not result in the same starship routes.
[edit] References
- T. V. Mishenina, 1998, "The chemical compositions of two stars with enhanced metallicities", Astronomy Reports, Vol. 42, Issue 2.
[edit] External links
- SIMBAD entry
- STARS link