Alpha Pavonis
 Location of α Pavonis (circled) |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Pavo |
| Right ascension | 20h 25m 38.85705s |
| Declination | −56° 44′ 06.3230″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 1.94 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | B3 V |
| U−B color index | −0.71 |
| B−V color index | −0.20 |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +2.0 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) |
RA: 6.90 mas/yr Dec.: −86.02 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 18.24 ± 0.52mas |
| Distance | 179 ± 5 ly (55 ± 2 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −1.762 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 5.91 M☉ |
| Radius | 4.83 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 2,200 L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 3.94 cgs |
| Temperature | 17,711 K |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 16 km/s |
| Age | 48 Myr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Alpha Pavonis (α Pavonis, abbreviated Alpha Pav, α Pav), also named Peacock, is a binary star in the southern constellation of Pavo, near the border with the constellation Telescopium.
α Pavonis (Latinised to Alpha Pavonis) is the star's Bayer designation.
The historical name Peacock was assigned by Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office in the late 1930s during the creation of the Air Almanac, a navigational almanac for the Royal Air Force. Of the fifty-seven stars included in the new almanac, two had no classical names: Alpha Pavonis and Epsilon Carinae. The RAF insisted that all of the stars must have names, so new names were invented. Alpha Pavonis was named "Peacock" ('pavo' is Latin for 'peacock') whilst Epsilon Carinae was called "Avior". 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 Peacock for this star and Avior for Epsilon Carinae.
At an apparent magnitude of 1.94, this is the brightest star in Pavo. Based upon parallax measurements, this star is about 179 light-years (55 parsecs) distant from the Earth. It has an estimated six times the Sun's mass and 6 times the Sun's radius, but 2,200 times the luminosity of the Sun. The effective temperature of the photosphere is 17,700 K, which gives the star a blue-white hue. It has a stellar classification of B3 V, although older studies have often given it a subgiant luminosity class. It is classified as B2.5 IV in the Bright Star Catalogue.
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