beta Muscae
{{Short description|Star in the constellation Musca}}
{{Starbox begin}}
{{Starbox image
| image =
{{Location mark
| image=Musca IAU.svg
| float=center | width=280 | position=right
| mark=Red circle.svg | mark_width=10 | mark_link=β Mus
| x%=46.6 | y%=41.5
}}
| caption=Location of β Musca (circled)
}}
{{Starbox observe
| epoch = J2000.0
| constell = Musca
| dec = {{DEC|–68|06|29.2164}}
| appmag_v = 3.05 (3.51 + 4.01)
}}
{{Starbox character
| class = {{nowrap|B2 V + B3 V}}
| r-i =
}}
{{Starbox astrometry
| parallax = 9.55
| p_error = 0.41
}}
{{Starbox orbit
| period = 194.28
| axis = 0.969
| eccentricity = 0.598
| inclination = 37.1
| node = 349.4
| periastron = 1857.50
| periarg = 209.0
}}
{{Starbox detail
| component1 = β Mus A
| radius =
| temperature =
| gravity =
| rotational_velocity =
| age_myr = {{nowrap|15.1 ± 1.2}}
| component2 = β Mus B
}}
{{Starbox catalog
| names = {{odlist | B=β Mus | CPD=−67 2064 | HD=110879 | HIP=62322 | HR=4844 | SAO=252019 }}
}}
{{Starbox reference
|Simbad=bet+Mus
}}
{{Starbox end}}
Beta Muscae, Latinized from β Muscae, is a binary star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Musca. With a combined apparent visual magnitude of 3.07, it is the second brightest star (or star system) in the constellation. Judging by the parallax results, it is located at a distance of roughly {{Convert|105|+/-|4|pc|ly|order=flip|abbr=off|lk=on|sigfig=2}} from the Earth.
This is a binary star system with a period of about 194 years at an orbital eccentricity of 0.6. As of 2007, the two stars had an angular separation of 1.206 arcseconds at a position angle of 35°. The components are main sequence stars of similar size and appearance. The primary component, β Muscae A, has an apparent magnitude of 3.51, a stellar classification of B2 V, and about 7.35 times the Sun's mass. The secondary component, β Muscae B, has an apparent magnitude of 4.01, a stellar classification of B3 V, and is about 6.40 times the mass of the Sun.
This is a confirmed member of the Scorpius–Centaurus association, which is a group of stars with similar ages, locations, and trajectories through space, implying that they formed together in the same molecular cloud. Beta Muscae is considered a runaway star system as it has a high peculiar velocity of {{nowrap|43.9 km s−1}} relative to the normal galactic rotation. Runaway stars can be produced through several means, such as through an encounter with another binary star system. Binary systems form a relatively small fraction of the total population of runaway stars.
References
{{reflist|refs=
| title=XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation
| last1=Anderson | first1=E. | last2=Francis | first2=Ch.
| journal=Astronomy Letters
| volume=38 | issue=5 | pages=331 | year=2012
| bibcode=2012AstL...38..331A | doi=10.1134/S1063773712050015
| arxiv=1108.4971 | s2cid=119257644 | postscript=. }}
{{cite journal | last=Wilson | first=Ralph Elmer | year=1953 | title=General Catalogue of Stellar Radial Velocities | journal=Carnegie Institute Washington D.C. Publication | publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington | location=Washington | bibcode=1953GCRV..C......0W }}
{{citation | last1=Eggleton | first1=P. P. | last2=Tokovinin | first2=A. A. | title=A catalogue of multiplicity among bright stellar systems | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=389 | issue=2 | pages=869–879 |date=September 2008 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13596.x | doi-access=free | bibcode=2008MNRAS.389..869E |arxiv = 0806.2878 | s2cid=14878976 }}
{{citation | title=CCDM J12463-6806AB -- Double or multiple star | work=SIMBAD | publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg | url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Beta+Muscae | accessdate=2012-01-20 }}
}}
External links
- {{citation | first1=James B. | last1=Kaler | title=Beta Muscae | work=Stars | publisher=University of Illinois | url=http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/betamus.html | accessdate=2012-01-20 }}
{{Musca}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beta Muscae}}
Category:B-type main-sequence stars