Nu Caeli, a white main-sequence star in Caelum
Nu Caeli is a white main-sequence star in the constellation Caelum. At 171 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 6.06.
Nu Caeli (HIP 22488)
Nu Caeli is a white main-sequence star in the constellation Caelum. At 171 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 6.06. Nu Caeli is the primary component of a multiple-star system. The star's age is estimated to be 1.8 billion years but is certainly no less than 1.7 billion years and no greater than 1.9 billion years. The iron abundance of Nu Caeli is -0.13 (74.1% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 29 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 23,900 and 27,000 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 1.5 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 4.84 from a distance of 98 light years.
Sky position: RA 4h 50.3m, Dec -41° 19.2'
Common designations: Nu Caeli, HIP 22488, HD 30985, HR 1557
Galactic Orbit of
Nu Caeli
(compared to the
Sun)
E
ccentricity: 6.1% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : -38.6°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 7,801 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 7,787 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 478 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 7,772 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,323 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 8,280 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Nu Caeli
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 72.56743010° ±0.25 mas | -3.18 ±0.27 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -41.32100992° ±0.30 mas | 66.33 ±0.34 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 245.54326915° | -66.40 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -39.65937953° | 0.79 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 19.03 ± 0.32 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: F2/3V 1978MSS...C02....0H.
Radial Velocity: 23.80 ±0.80 km/s [A rating] 2006AstL...32..759G.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.13 ±0.08 dex
2011A&A...530A.138C.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 6.47 | 2.87 |
| V | 6.06 | 2.46 |
| R | ||
| I | 5.63 | 2.03 |
| J | ||
| H | ||
| K |
B-V: +0.41 V-I: +0.43
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 52.53 pc (1.7% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,417 pc
Transverse velocity: 16.5 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -16.7 pc | -36.8 pc | -33.5 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -22.7 km/s | -9.9 km/s | -15.0 km/s |