Mebsuta, a yellow supergiant star in Gemini
Mebsuta is a yellow supergiant star in the constellation Gemini. At 843 light years away, it is the 187th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.06.
Mebsuta (HIP 32246)
Mebsuta is a yellow supergiant star in the constellation Gemini. At 843 light years away, it is the 187th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.06. Mebsuta is the primary component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Mebsuta is +0.11 (128.8% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 17.8 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,700 and 28,600 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 6h 43.9m, Dec +25° 7.8'
Common designations: Mebsuta, Epsilon Geminorum, 27 Geminorum, HIP 32246, HD 48329
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Brightest stars in Gemini:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 1.16 | Pollux |
| 2 | 1.58 | Castor |
| 3 | 1.93 | Alhena |
| 4 | 2.87 | Tejat Posterior |
5
| 3.06
) Mebsuta
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 6 | 3.31 | Tejat Prior |
| 7 | 3.35 | Alzirr |
| 8 | 3.50 | Wasat |
| 9 | 3.57 | Kappa Geminorum |
| 10 | 3.58 | Lambda Geminorum |
| 11 | 3.60 | Theta Geminorum |
| 12 | 3.78 | Propus |
| 13 | 4.01 | Mekbuda |
| 14 | 4.06 | Upsilon Geminorum |
| 15 | 4.13 | Nu Geminorum |
| 16 | 4.16 | Propus |
| 17 | 4.16 | Rho Geminorum |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Mebsuta
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 7.3% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 28.9°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 8,182 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 8,160 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 595 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 8,139 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,587 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 8,777 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Mebsuta
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 100.98304103° ±0.17 mas | -5.70 ±0.30 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 25.13115545° ±0.09 mas | -11.80 ±0.40 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 189.53600523° | 8.19 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | 9.62908585° | -10.23 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 3.86 ± 0.17 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: G9Ib 2008ApJS..176..216A.
Radial Velocity: 7.77 ±0.23 km/s [A rating] 2008A&A...480...91S, 2006AstL...32..759G.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
0.11 dex
2011A&A...525A..71W, 2008A&A...480...91S, 1998A&A...338..623M, 1982ApJ...256..177L.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 4.44 | -2.63 |
| V | 3.06 | -4.00 |
| R | ||
| I | 1.95 | -5.11 |
| J | 0.89 | -6.18 |
| H | 0.23 | -6.83 |
| K | 0.13 | -6.94 |
B-V: +1.38 V-I: +1.11
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 258.47 pc (4.4% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,652 pc
Transverse velocity: 16.1 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -251.3 pc | -42.2 pc | 43.2 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -8.0 km/s | -11.5 km/s | -11.1 km/s |