Beta Reticuli, an orange giant star in Reticulum
Beta Reticuli is an orange giant star in the constellation Reticulum. At 100 light years away, it is the 423rd brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.84.
Beta Reticuli (HIP 17440)
Beta Reticuli is an orange giant star in the constellation Reticulum. At 100 light years away, it is the 423rd brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.84. Beta Reticuli is the primary component of a multiple-star system. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 69.2 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 10,100 and 24,200 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 319,000 years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 2.98 from a distance of 67 light years.
Sky position: RA 3h 44.2m, Dec -64° 48.6'
Common designations: Beta Reticuli, HIP 17440, HD 23817, Gliese 9129
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Brightest stars in Reticulum:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 3.33 | Alpha Reticuli |
2
| 3.84
) Beta Reticuli
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 3 | 4.44 | Epsilon Reticuli |
| 4 | 4.48 | Gamma Reticuli |
| 5 | 4.56 | Delta Reticuli |
| 6 | 4.71 | Kappa Reticuli |
| 7 | 4.97 | Iota Reticuli |
| 8 | 5.24 | Zeta-2 Reticuli |
| 9 | 5.24 | Eta Reticuli |
| 10 | 5.45 | HR 1340 |
| 11 | 5.53 | Zeta-1 Reticuli |
| 12 | 5.74 | HR 1435 |
| 13 | 5.79 | HR 1475 |
| 14 | 5.81 | HR 1092 |
| 15 | 5.88 | Theta Reticuli |
| 16 | 5.94 | HR 1416 |
| 17 | 6.03 | HR 1014 |
Galactic Orbit of Beta Reticuli
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 41.2% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : -174.7°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 5,255 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 4,790 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 2,163 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 4,365 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 3,092 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,419 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Beta Reticuli
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 56.04814541° ±1.29 mas | 310.70 ±0.90 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -64.80709398° ±1.20 mas | 83.50 ±0.90 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 279.23673481° | -238.63 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -43.53704129° | 215.79 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 32.71 ± 0.46 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: K2III 2006AJ....132..161G.
Radial Velocity:
51.10 ±4.10 km/s [D rating]
2006AstL...32..759G.
This star is a spectroscopic binary with an unsolved orbit.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
n/a
Photometry
band
magnitude
Abs. Mag.
U
B
4.97
2.55
V
3.84
1.41
R
I
2.85
0.43
J
1.94
-0.49
H
1.37
-1.05
K
1.28
-1.15
B-V: +1.13 V-I: +0.99
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 30.56 pc (1.4% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,396 pc
Transverse velocity: 46.6 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | 3.6 pc | -21.9 pc | -21.1 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -24.7 km/s | -63.4 km/s | -12.5 km/s |