HD 63454, an orange main-sequence star in Chamaeleon
HD 63454 is an orange main-sequence star in the constellation Chamaeleon. At 123 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 9.36.
HD 63454 (HIP 37284)
HD 63454 is an orange main-sequence star in the constellation Chamaeleon. At 123 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 9.36. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 34.7 km/s relative to the Sun.
Sky position: RA 7h 39.4m, Dec -78° 16.7'
Common designations: HD 63454, HIP 37284, Gaia DR3 5209903017765189760
HD 63454 has the spectral type K3Vk:. K-type stars are orange stars with surface temperatures of about 3,900 to 5,300 K. Their spectra are rich in neutral metal lines and, in the cooler examples, molecular bands. Its luminosity class V means it is a main-sequence (dwarf) star, still fusing hydrogen into helium in its core like the Sun.
How to find HD 63454 in the sky
HD 63454 lies in Chamaeleon. With a declination of -78° 16.7', it is visible from the entire Southern Hemisphere and from the Northern Hemisphere up to about latitude 12° N. Observers poleward of latitude 12° S see it as circumpolar: it never sets. A telescope is needed to see it. It is highest in the sky at local midnight around February, which makes the weeks around that month the best time to observe it.
Tabulated data for HD 63454
Astrometry and spectroscopy
| Right Ascension (J2000) | 114.84105377° (7h 39.4m) |
| Declination (J2000) | -78.27897439° (-78° 16.7') |
| Galactic Longitude | 290.35430415° |
| Galactic Latitude | -24.13842949° |
| Proper motion RA | -19.56 mas/yr |
| Proper motion Dec | -39.93 mas/yr |
| Parallax | 26.55 ± 0.01 mas |
| Spectral Type | K3Vk: |
| Radial Velocity | 33.75 km/s |
Photometry
| Band | Magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
|---|---|---|
| B | 10.42 | 7.54 |
| V | 9.36 | 6.48 |
| J | 7.60 | 4.72 |
| H | 7.18 | 4.30 |
| K | 7.00 | 4.12 |
Colour index B-V: +1.06
Derivations
- Heliocentric distance: 37.66 pc (123 light years) (0.0% margin of error)
- Absolute visual magnitude: 6.48
- Transverse velocity: 7.9 km/s
- Space velocity relative to the Sun: 34.7 km/s
- Galactic position (X, Y, Z): 12.0 pc, -32.2 pc, -15.4 pc
- Galactic velocity (U, V, W): 15.3 km/s, -24.8 km/s, -18.8 km/s
Data: Extended Hipparcos Compilation (XHIP) and SIMBAD.