Pollux (star)

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Pollux
Gemini constellation map.svg
The position of Pollux within the constellation of Gemini.
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Gemini
Right ascension 07h 45m 18.94987s[1]
Declination +28° 01′ 34.3160″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 1.14[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type K0 III[3]
U−B color index +0.86[2]
B−V color index +1.00[2]
Variable type Suspected
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv) +3.23[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: –626.55[1] mas/yr
Dec.: –45.80[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π) 96.54 ± 0.27[1] mas
Distance 33.78 ± 0.09 ly
(10.36 ± 0.03 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV) +1.08±0.02[5]
Details
Mass 2.04±0.3[6] M☉
Radius 8.8±0.1[7] R☉
Luminosity 43[8] L☉
Surface gravity (log g) 2.685±0.09[7] cgs
Temperature 4666±95[7] K
Metallicity [Fe/H] –0.07 to +0.19[7] dex
Rotation 558 days[9]
Rotational velocity (v sin i) 2.8[10] km/s
Age 724[11] Myr
Other designations
Beta Geminorum, 78 Geminorum, BD+28°1463, GCTP 1826.00, Gliese 286, HD 62509, HIP 37826, HR 2990, LFT 548, LHS 1945, LTT 12065, SAO 79666.[12]
Database references
SIMBAD data
ARICNS data

Pollux, also known as Beta Geminorum (abbreviated β Geminorum, β Gem), is an orange-hued evolved giant star approximately 34 light-years from the Sun in the northern constellation of Gemini. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.[13] In 2006, an extrasolar planet (designated Pollux b or β Gem b, later named Thestias) was confirmed to be orbiting it.[7]

Nomenclature

The name Pollux refers specifically to the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek and Roman mythology.[14] Beta Geminorum is the star's Bayer designation.

Castor and Pollux are the two "heavenly twin" stars giving the constellation Gemini (Latin, 'the twins') its name. The stars, however, are quite different in detail. Castor is a complex sextuple system of hot, bluish-white A-type stars and dim red dwarfs, while Pollux is a single, cooler yellow-orange giant. In Percy Shelley's 1818 poem Homer's Hymn To Castor And Pollux, the star is referred to as "..mild Pollux, void of blame."[15]

Following its discovery the planet was designated Pollux b. In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.[16] The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names.[17] In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name was Thestias for this planet.[18] The winning name was based on that originally submitted by theSkyNet of Australia; namely Leda, Pollux's mother. At the request of the IAU, 'Thestias' (the patronym of Leda, a daughter of Thestius) was substituted. This was because 'Leda' was already attributed to an asteroid and to one of Jupiter's satellites.[19][20]

In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi Al Mouakket, this star was designated Muekher al Dzira, which was translated into Latin as Posterior Brachii, meaning the end in the paw.[21]

In Chinese, 北河 (Běi Hé), meaning North River, refers to an asterism consisting of Pollux, ρ Geminorum and Castor.[22] Consequently, Pollux itself is known as 北河三 (Běi Hé sān, English: the Third Star of North River.)[23]

Stellar characteristics

Parallax measurements made with the Hipparcos astrometry satellite[24][25] place Pollux at a distance of about 33.78 light-years (10.36 parsecs) from the Sun.[1]

At an apparent visual magnitude of 1.1,[26] Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation; brighter even than its neighbor Castor (Alpha Geminorum). The star is larger than the Sun, with about two times its mass and almost nine times its radius.[7] Once an A-type main sequence star,[6] Pollux has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and evolved into a giant star with a stellar classification of K0 III.[3] The effective temperature of this star's outer envelope is about 4666 K,[7] which lies in the range that produces the characteristic orange hue of K-type stars.[27] Pollux has a projected rotational velocity of 2.8 km·s−1.[10] The abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium, what astronomers term the star's metallicity, is somewhat uncertain, with estimates ranging from 85% to 155% of the Sun's abundance.[7][28]

Evidence for a low level of magnetic activity came from the detection of weak X-ray emission using the ROSAT orbiting telescope. The X-ray emission from this star is about 1027 erg s−1, which is roughly the same as the X-ray emission from the Sun. A magnetic field with a strength below 1 Gauss has since been confirmed on the surface of Pollux; one of the weakest fields ever detected on a star. The presence of this field suggests that Pollux was once an Ap star with a much stronger magnetic field.[6]

Planetary system

An extrasolar planet was suspected orbiting Pollux since 1993,[29] from measured radial velocity oscillations. The existence of the planet, Pollux b, was confirmed and announced on June 16, 2006. Pollux b is calculated to have a mass at least 2.3 times that of Jupiter. It is orbiting Pollux with a period of about 590 days.[7]

The Pollux planetary system[7]
Companion
(in order from star)		 Mass Semimajor axis
(AU)		 Orbital period
(days)		 Eccentricity Inclination Radius
b (Thestias) > 2.30±0.45 MJ 1.64±0.27 589.64±0.81 0.02±0.03 — —

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ http://allpoetry.com/poem/8499261-Homers_Hymn_To_Castor_And_Pollux-by-Percy_Bysshe_Shelley
  16. ↑ NameExoWorlds: An IAU Worldwide Contest to Name Exoplanets and their Host Stars. IAU.org. 9 July 2014
  17. ↑ NameExoWorlds The Process
  18. ↑ Final Results of NameExoWorlds Public Vote Released, International Astronomical Union, 15 December 2015.
  19. ↑ NameExoWorlds The Approved Names
  20. ↑ YOU helped name an exoplanet!, TheSkyNet, 2015-12-17
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ (Chinese) 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
  23. ↑ (Chinese) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表, Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ The abundance is determined by taking the value of [Fe/H] in the table to the power of 10. Hence, 10−0.07 = 0.85 while 10+0.19 = 1.55.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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Coordinates: Sky map 07h 45m 19.4s, 28° 01′ 35″

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