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Beta (β) Canum Venaticorum
Chara
Yellow Solar Type Star
Right Ascension | 12h 33m 45s | Best Seen | 3/1 - 8/15 |
Declination | 41° 21' 25" | Magnitude | 4.25 |
Constellation | Canes Venatici | ||
Actual | Compared to Sun | |
Distance | ~30 ly | -- |
Actual Brightness | -- | ~2 |
Surface Temperature | ~ 6000 °K | ~ 1.03 |
Diameter | -- | -- |
Mass | -- | -- |
Surface Gravity | -- | -- |
Surface Composition (by mass) | 74% hydrogen 24% helium 2% everything else |
same |
Spectral Type | G0 V | G2 V |
Density (gram/cubic cm) | -- | -- |
What To Look For Through The Telescope
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Recommended eyepiece: 24mm or 40 mm.
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When people look through the telescope they should see a faint star. It may appear to be a pale yellow.
Beta Canum Venaticorum Information:
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The star is also called Chara.
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Along with nearby brighter star Cor Caroli, the pair form the southern dog in this constallation that represents The Hunting Dogs
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It is the second brightest star in the constellation Canis Venatici, the Hunting Dogs, a constellation invented by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in about 1690.
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The name “Chara” is assigned both to this star and the “southern hound” of Canis Venatici.
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This star is very similar to our sun: about the same temperature, color, and size.
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Beta Canum Venaticorum may have a companion star. However, this companion cannot be seen with any telescope after years of looking.
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This star has less iron than our sun.
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References
Item | Updated | Notes |
Coordinates | 2003-09-05 | SIMBAD says dec +41 21 27 Hipparcos says +41 21 24 |
Magnitude | 2003-09-05 | SIMBAD says 4.26, Hipparcos 4.24 |
Distance | 2003-09-05 | SIMBAD/Hipparcos agree: parallax 119.46 mas |
Actual Brightness | -- | |
Surface Temperature | 2003-09-05 | if G0 star, then 6000K |
Diameter | -- | |
Mass | -- | |
Surface Gravity | -- | |
Surface Composition | 2003-09-05 | OK for all stars |
Spectral Type | 2003-09-05 | SIMBAD/Hipparcos agree |
Density | -- | |
Other Information | 2003-11-26 | other info from http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/chara.html http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Canes_Venatici.html |