Astronomy:Beta Pegasi
| Observation data Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Pegasus |
| Right ascension | 23h 03m 46.45746s[1] |
| Declination | +28° 04′ 58.0336″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 2.42[2] (2.31 – 2.74)[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | AGB[4] |
| Spectral type | M2.5II–IIIe[5] |
| U−B color index | +1.96[2] |
| B−V color index | +1.67[2] |
| Variable type | Semi-regular[6] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +8.7[7] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +187.65[1] mas/yr Dec.: +136.93[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 16.64 ± 0.15[1] mas |
| Distance | 196 ± 2 ly (60.1 ± 0.5 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −1.41[8] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.7±0.3[9] M☉ |
| Radius | 109±7[10] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 1,644[9][lower-alpha 1] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 1.20[11] cgs |
| Temperature | 3,606[9] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.11[11] dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 9.7[12] km/s |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Beta Pegasi (β Pegasi, abbreviated Beta Peg, β Peg), formally named Scheat /ˈʃiːæt/,[13][14] is a red giant star and the second-brightest star (after Epsilon Pegasi) in the constellation of Pegasus. It forms the upper right corner of the Great Square of Pegasus,[15] a prominent rectangular asterism.
Nomenclature
β Pegasi (Latinised to Beta Pegasi) is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional name of Scheat, a name that had also been used for Delta Aquarii. The name was derived from the Arabic Al Sā'id "the upper arm", or from Sa'd.[15] In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organised a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[16] to catalog and standardise proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016[17] included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Scheat for this star (the name Skat was later approved for Delta Aquarii[14]).
In Chinese, 室宿 (Shì Xiù), meaning Encampment, refers to an asterism consisting β Pegasi and α Pegasi.[18] Consequently, the Chinese name for β Pegasi itself is 室宿二 (Shì Xiù èr), "the Second Star of Encampment".[19]
Distance and properties

Based upon parallax measurements, Beta Pegasi is located about 196 light-years (60 parsecs) from the Sun.[1] It is unusual among bright stars in having a relatively cool surface temperature compared to stars like the Sun. This star has a stellar classification of M2.3 II–III,[5] which indicates the spectrum has characteristics partway between a bright giant and a giant star. It has expanded until it is 109 times as large,[10] and has a total luminosity of 1,640 times that of the Sun.[9] The effective temperature of the star's outer envelope is about 3,600 K,[9] giving the star the characteristic orange-red hue of an M-type star.[21] The photosphere is sufficiently cool for molecules of titanium oxide to form.[22]
Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt discovered that Beta Pegasi is a variable star, in 1847.[23] Beta Pegasi is a semi-regular variable with a period of 43.3 days[6] and a brightness that varies from magnitude +2.31 to +2.74 (averaging 2.42).[3] It is losing mass at a rate at or below 10−8 times the Sun's mass per year, which is creating an expanding shell of gas and dust with a radius of about 3,500 times the Sun's radius (16 astronomical units).[24]
Notes
- ↑ Calculated from bolometric magnitude in the equation 100.4(4.74-Mbol), where "Mbol" is the bolometric magnitude.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 van Leeuwen, F. (November 2007), "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction", Astronomy and Astrophysics 474 (2): 653–664, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357, Bibcode: 2007A&A...474..653V
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Johnson, H. L. et al. (1966). "UBVRIJKL photometry of the bright stars". Communications of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory 4 (99): 99. Bibcode: 1966CoLPL...4...99J.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Query= bet Peg", General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg), http://www.sai.msu.su/gcvs/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search=bet+Peg, retrieved 2010-01-05
- ↑ Guerrero, Martín A.; Ortiz, Roberto (2020). "The effect of pulsation on the near-ultraviolet spectrum of AGB stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 491 (1): 680. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz2966. Bibcode: 2020MNRAS.491..680G.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "V* bet Peg -- Pulsating variable Star", SIMBAD (Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg), http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HD+217906, retrieved 2010-01-05
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Tabur, V. et al. (December 2009), "Long-term photometry and periods for 261 nearby pulsating M giants", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 400 (4): 1945–1961, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15588.x, Bibcode: 2009MNRAS.400.1945T
- ↑ Wilson, Ralph Elmer (1953), "General Catalogue of Stellar Radial Velocities", Washington (Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington), Bibcode: 1953GCRV..C......0W
- ↑ Huang, W. et al. (2012), "A catalogue of Paschen-line profiles in standard stars", Astronomy & Astrophysics 547: A62, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219804, Bibcode: 2012A&A...547A..62H.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Halabi, Ghina M.; Eid, Mounib El (2015-08-01). "Exploring masses and CNO surface abundances of red giant stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 451 (3): 2957–2967. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv1141. ISSN 0035-8711. Bibcode: 2015MNRAS.451.2957H.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Arroyo-Torres, B. et al. (June 2014). "VLTI/AMBER observations of cold giant stars: atmospheric structures and fundamental parameters". Astronomy & Astrophysics 566: 11. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201323264. A88. Bibcode: 2014A&A...566A..88A.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Soubiran, C. et al. (2008), "Vertical distribution of Galactic disk stars. IV. AMR and AVR from clump giants", Astronomy and Astrophysics 480 (1): 91–101, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078788, Bibcode: 2008A&A...480...91S
- ↑ Massarotti, Alessandro et al. (January 2008), "Rotational and Radial Velocities for a Sample of 761 HIPPARCOS Giants and the Role of Binarity", The Astronomical Journal 135 (1): 209–231, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/1/209, Bibcode: 2008AJ....135..209M
- ↑ Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub. ISBN 978-1-931559-44-7.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "IAU Catalog of Star Names". http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Allen, Richard Hinckley (1899), Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, New York, NY: Dover Publications Inc., p. 325, ISBN 0-486-21079-0, https://books.google.com/books?id=5xQuAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA325
- ↑ "IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)". https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/.
- ↑ "Bulletin of the IAU Working Group on Star Names, No. 1". http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/WGSN_bulletin1.pdf.
- ↑ (in Chinese) 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
- ↑ (in Chinese) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表 , Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.
- ↑ Light Curve, ESA, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/hipparcos/java-tools/light-curve, retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ↑ "The Colour of Stars", Australia Telescope, Outreach and Education (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), December 21, 2004, http://outreach.atnf.csiro.au/education/senior/astrophysics/photometry_colour.html, retrieved 2012-01-16
- ↑ Gavin, M. (February 1996), "Stellar spectroscopy with CCDs - some preliminary results", Journal of the British Astronomical Association 106 (1): 11–15, Bibcode: 1996JBAA..106...11G
- ↑ Cannon, Annie J. (1907). "Second catalogue of variable stars". Annals of Harvard College Observatory 55: 1–94. Bibcode: 1907AnHar..55....1C. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1907AnHar..55....1C. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ↑ Mauron, N.; Caux, E. (November 1992), "K I/Na I scattering observations in circumstellar envelopes - Alpha(1) Herculis, Omicron Ceti, TX PISCIUM and Beta Pegasi", Astronomy and Astrophysics 265 (2): 711–725, Bibcode: 1992A&A...265..711M. Solar Radius = 0.0046491 AU.
Coordinates:
23h 03m 46.458s, +28° 04′ 58.04″
