Xi Herculis

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Xi Herculis
Location of ξ Herculis (circled in red)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Hercules
Right ascension 17h 57m 45.88567s[1]
Declination +29° 14′ 52.3660″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 3.70[2]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage red clump[3]
Spectral type G8 III[4]
U−B color index +0.66[2]
B−V color index +0.93[2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−1.65±0.17[5] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 81.919 mas/yr[1]
Dec.: −18.962 mas/yr[1]
Parallax (π)23.8544±0.1068 mas[1]
Distance136.7 ± 0.6 ly
(41.9 ± 0.2 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)+0.62[6]
Details
Mass2.01[7] M
Radius9.94±0.09[8] R
Luminosity57.2±2.1[8] L
Surface gravity (log g)2.87±0.09[9] cgs
Temperature5,032±48[8] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]+0.09±0.04[9] dex
Rotation67[3] d
Rotational velocity (v sin i)2.8[5] km/s
Age2.48[7] Gyr
Other designations
ξ Her, 92 Her, BD+29°3156, HD 163993, HIP 87933, HR 6703, SAO 85590[10]
Database references
SIMBADdata

Xi Herculis is a solitary[11] star located within the northern constellation of Hercules. The star is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.70.[2] Based upon an annual parallax shift of 23.85 mas as seen from Earth, it is located 137 light years from the Sun.[1] At that distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.05 due to interstellar dust. It is a suspected member of the Sirius stream of co-moving stars.[12]

File:Xi Herculis.jpg
ξ Herculis in optical light
File:XiHerLightCurve.png
A light curve for Xi Herculis, plotted from Hipparcos data[13]

This is an evolved G-type giant star with a stellar classification of G8 III.[4] It is a red clump star, which means it is on the horizontal branch and generating energy through the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen at its core. The star is emitting X-rays with a luminosity of 3.03×1030 erg s−1 in the 0.3–10 keV band.[3] It has twice[7] the mass of the Sun but, at the age of two and a half billion years,[7] it has expanded to 10 times the Sun's radius. The star is radiating 57 times the solar luminosity from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 5,032 K.[8]

Xi Herculis was discovered to be a variable star when the Hipparcos data was analyzed.[14] It is a semiregular variable star, oscillating in brightness by 3 hundredths of a magnitude, over a period of 120.8 days.[15]

Chinese name

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In R. H. Allen's book Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, this star, together with ν Her and 99 Her (b Herculis) represent the state of Zhongshan (or Chung Shan, "the Middle Mountain"),[16] but in Chinese literature, that name is applied to ο Her.[17]

Markov 1, the mini teapot

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One third of a degree to the north-northwest of Xi Herculis is the location of a telescopic asterism in the shape of a teapot. This teapot (Markov 1) could be seen as a somewhat twisted small equivalent of the large and easy to recognize teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ (in Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 6 月 6 日 Archived 2021-05-15 at the Wayback Machine