Gamma Microscopii
 Location of γ Microscopii (circled) |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Microscopium |
| Right ascension | 21h 01m 17.46047s |
| Declination | −32° 15′ 27.9574″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.680 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | G6 III |
| U−B color index | +0.575 |
| B−V color index | +0.882 |
| R−I color index | +0.32 |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +17.6 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) |
RA: −1.73 mas/yr Dec.: +0.41 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 14.24 ± 0.26mas |
| Distance | 229 ± 4 ly (70 ± 1 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 0.49 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 2.5 M☉ |
| Radius | 10 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 64 L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 3.34 cgs |
| Temperature | 5,050 K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | –0.22 ± 0.11 dex |
| Age | 620 Myr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Gamma Microscopii (γ Microscopii, γ Mic) is the brightest star in the faint southern constellation of Microscopium. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.68, which is too dim to be viewed from city skies. The distance to this star has been determined using parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, which place it around 229 light-years (70 parsecs) away with a 2% margin of error.
Based upon a stellar classification of G6 III, this is a G-type giant star. It is a core helium fusing star that is classified as a member of the red clump evolutionary branch, although the metallicity of this star—meaning the abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium—is anomalously low for a member of this group. The effective temperature of the star's outer envelope is 5,050 K, giving it the yellow-hued glow typical of G-type stars.
In the galactic coordinate system, this star has space velocity components of [U, V, W] = [+13.75, +3.47, –10.50] km s−1. The peculiar velocity of this star, relative to its neighbors, is 1.2 km s−1. It has been listed as likely member of the Ursa Major Moving Group of stars that share a similar location and a common trajectory through space. Backwards extrapolation of the motion of γ Microscopii has shown that approximately 3.8 million years ago, it was only around 6 light-years from the Sun. It would then have had an apparent magnitude of −3 and have been brighter than Sirius is now.
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