*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ahfa al Farkadain

ζ Ursae Minoris
Ursa Minor IAU.svg
Cercle rouge 100%.svg
Location of ζ Ursae Minoris.
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Ursa Minor
Right ascension 15h 44m 03.5193s
Declination +77° 47′ 40.175″
Apparent magnitude (V) +4.32
Characteristics
Spectral type A3Vn
U−B color index +0.05
B−V color index +0.04
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv) –13.1 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 20.07 mas/yr
Dec.: –2.50 mas/yr
Parallax (π) 8.68 ± 0.47mas
Distance 380 ± 20 ly
(115 ± 6 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV) −0.98
Details
Luminosity 227 L
Other designations
16 Ursae Minoris, HR 5903, HD 142105, BD+78 527, FK5 590, HIP 77055, SAO 8328, GC 21243.
Database references
SIMBAD data

Zeta Ursae Minoris (ζ UMi, ζ Ursae Minoris) is a star in the constellation Ursa Minor.

It has been called Akhfa al Farkadain, from the Arabic أخفى الفرقدين aḫfa al-farqadayn, meaning "the dimmer of the two calves". It is then paired with η Ursae Minoris as Anwar al Farkadain, "the brighter of the two calves". The names may originally refer to a pair of Ibexes, and are more properly applied to γ UMi and β UMi respectively, the brighter two stars in the rectangle of Ursa Minor.

Zeta Ursae Minoris is a white stellar class A-type main sequence star with an apparent magnitude of +4.28. It is approximately 380 light years from Earth.

Despite its classification as a main sequence dwarf star, Zeta UMi is 3.4 times the mass of the sun and its luminosity is about 200 solar luminosities. At a surface temperature of 8,700 kelvins, this star is actually on the verge of becoming a giant star. Zeta UMi may also be a variable of the Delta Scuti type.


...
Wikipedia

...