Β Cassiopeiae
 Location of β Cassiopeiae (circled) |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cassiopeia |
| Right ascension | 00h 09m 10.68518s |
| Declination | +59° 08′ 59.2120″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +2.28 (2.25–2.31) |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | F2 III |
| U−B color index | 0.11 |
| B−V color index | 0.34 |
| Variable type | δ Sct |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 11.3 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) |
RA: 523.50 mas/yr Dec.: -179.77 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 59.58 ± 0.38mas |
| Distance | 54.7 ± 0.3 ly (16.8 ± 0.1 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | +1.3 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.91 ± 0.02 M☉ |
| Radius | 3.43–3.69 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 27.3 L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 3.40 cgs |
| Temperature | 7,079 K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.03 dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 71.0 km/s |
| Age | 1.09–1.18 Gyr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Beta Cassiopeiae (β Cassiopeiae, abbreviated Beta Cas or β Cas), also named Caph, is a Delta Scuti variable star in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It is a giant star belonging to the spectral class F2. The white star of second magnitude (+2.27 mag) has an absolute magnitude of +1.16 mag.
Beta Cassiopeiae is the star's Bayer designation. It also bore the traditional names Caph (from the Arabic word كف kaf, "palm" - i.e. reaching from the Pleiades), Chaph and Kaff, as well as al-Sanam al-Nakah "the Camel's Hump". In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Caph for this star.
Originally, the pre-Islamic Arabic term al-Kaff al-Khadib "the stained hand" referred to the five stars comprising the 'W' of the constellation Cassiopeia, and depicted a hand stained with henna. The term was abbreviated and somehow came to signify β Cassiopeiae alone. The old "stained hand" was part of an asterism called Thuraya stretching from the Pleiades, which signified the "head" through Taurus and Perseus and into Cassiopeia, while the other "hand" was in Cetus.
In Chinese, 王良 (Wáng Liáng), meaning Wang Liang, refers to an asterism consisting of β Cassiopeiae, κ Cassiopeiae, η Cassiopeiae, α Cassiopeiae and λ Cassiopeiae. Consequently, β Cassiopeiae itself is known as 王良一 (Wáng Liáng yī, English: the First Star of Wang Liang.)
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