Alpha Chamaeleontis
Alpha Chamaeleontis, Latinized from α Chamaeleontis, is a solitary star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Chamaeleon. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.06 and thus is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. With an annual parallax shift of 51.12 mas, it is located 63.8 light years from the Sun. The star is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −13 km/s, and is predicted to come to within 47 light-years in 666,000 years.
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Chamaeleon |
| Right ascension | 08h 18m 31.55319s |
| Declination | −76° 55′ 10.9964″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.06 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | F5 V Fe-0.8 |
| U−B color index | −0.04 |
| B−V color index | +0.40 |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | −13.4±0.5 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: 111.12 mas/yr Dec.: 107.49 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 51.12 ± 0.12 mas |
| Distance | 63.8 ± 0.1 ly (19.56 ± 0.05 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | +2.59 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.42 M☉ |
| Radius | 2.11+0.14 −0.05 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 7.542±0.062 L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 4.28±0.14 cgs |
| Temperature | 6,580+91 −209 K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.26 dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 0 km/s |
| Age | 1.8 Gyr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
This is an F-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of F5 V Fe−0.8, where the 'Fe−0.8' notation indicates an anomalously low abundance of iron. It has an estimated 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, 2.1 times the Sun's radius, and radiates 7.5 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 6,580 K. The star is around 1.8 billion years old with a projected rotational velocity that is too low to be measured. The star has been examined for an infrared excess that would suggest the presence of an orbiting debris disk, but none was found.