Methuselah Star Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more) (2024)

Facts

Methuselah Star is a subdwarf star located in the constellation of Libra, The Scales. It is not part of the Libra constellation outline but is within the borders of the constellation.

Methuselah Star Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more) (1)
Methuselah Star Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more) (2)

Based on a parallax of 17.16, Methuselah Star distance from Earth can be calculated at being 190.07 light years away or 57.34 parsecs.

Methuselah Star cannot be seen by the naked eye, you will need a telescope to observe it.

The Michigan Spectral Classification for Methuselah Star is A5/7 Ib/IIw. The Hipparcos or Simbad spectral class is sdF3, and it is the latter which will be used for descriptions on this site.

Location

The location of the Methuselah Star in the night sky is determined by the right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.). These are equivalent to the Longitude and Latitude on Earth. The Right Ascension (Longitude) is expressed in time (hh:mm:ss) and is how far the star is along Earth's celestial equator. If the R.A. is positive, then it's eastwards and vice versa.

The Declination (Latitude) is how far north or south the object is compared to the celestial equator and is expressed in degrees. If the value is positive, it is north of the celestial equator. For Methuselah Star, the location is 15h 43m 03.76 and -10° 55` 57.9 .

Based on the location of Libra, Methuselah Star can be located in the southern hemisphere of the celestial sky. The celestial hemisphere is equivalent to the hemispheres on Earth. Methuselah Star is on the Ecliptic. The Ecliptic is the path that the Earth takes as it orbits the Sun. As the Earth is titled, we therefore have Celestial and Ecliptic hemispheres and they can be different for a star.

Physical Properties

Spectral Type

Methuselah Star spectral type of sdF3 There is no relationship between colour and size. For example, a red star can be large or small. Small stars are more energy efficient than larger stars and live longer.

Methuselah Star Luminosity

Luminosity is the amount of energy a star pumps out relative to the amount that our star, the Sun, gives out. Our star, the Sun's value is 1. Methuselah Star luminosity figure of 4.59 is based on the value in the Simbad Hipparcos Extended Catalogue at the University of Strasbourg from 2012. The star generates more energy than our star.

Iron Abundance

Methuselah Star Iron Abundance is -2.27 with an error value of 9.99 Fe/H, with the Sun having a value of 1 to put it into context. The value comes from the Hipparcos Extended Catalog.

Magnitude (Apparent / Absolute / Visible)

A number represents a star’s magnitude, whether apparent/visual or absolute. The smaller the number, the brighter the star is. The Sun is the brightest star and therefore has the lowest of all magnitudes, -26.74. A faint star will have a high number.

Methuselah Star apparent magnitude is 7.2, which is a measure of the star's brightness as seen from Earth. Apparent Magnitude is also known as Visual Magnitude.

If you use the 1997 parallax value, Methuselah Star' absolute magnitude is 3.41. If you use the 2007 parallax value, Methuselah Star' absolute magnitude is 3.37. Absolute Magnitude is the star's apparent magnitude from 10 parsecs or 32.6 light years. The magnitude assumes nothing is between the object and the viewer, such as dust clouds. To compare different stars' actual brightness, you would best use Absolute rather than Apparent Magnitude.

Methuselah Star cannot be seen from the Earth with the naked eye, it is just too far and too dim to be seen. Only objects with a magnitude of 6.5 or less can be seen on a clear night.


Radial Velocity and Proper Motion

In simplistic terms, all non-rogue stars, like planets, orbit around a central object, although that is actually not true. Where is the centre of the Solar System. For simplicity it's the central star, such as the Sun. In the case of a star, it's the galactic centre. The constellations we see today will be different than they were 50,000 years ago or 50,000 years from now.

Proper motion details the movements of these stars and is measured in milliarcseconds. Methuselah Star is moving -304.36 ± 0.46 milliarcseconds/year towards the north and -1,114.93 ± 0.68 milliarcseconds/year east if we saw them in the horizon.

The radial velocity, the speed at which the Methuselah Star is towards the Sun, is -171.12000 km/s with an error of about 0.29 km/s . When the value is negative, the star and the Sun are getting closer to one another; likewise, a positive number means that two stars are moving away. It's nothing to fear as the stars are so far apart they won't collide in our lifetime, if ever.

Source of Information

The source of the information if it has a Hip I.D. is from Simbad, the Hipparcos data library based at the University at Strasbourg, France. Hipparcos was an E.S.A. satellite operation launched in 1989 for four years. The items in red are values that I've calculated, so they could be wrong. Information regarding Metallicity and/or Mass is from the E.U. Exoplanets. The data was obtained as of 12th Feb 2017.

Methuselah Star Fact Table

The table is scrollable if you can't see everything, just swipe the table to see the hidden information.

Primary NameMethuselah Star
Spectral TypesdF3
Star TypeChemically Peculiar Star
GalaxyMilky Way
ConstellationLibra
Main StarNo
Absolute Magnitude3.41 / 3.37
Visual / Apparent Magnitude7.2
Visible From EarthRequires a 7x50 Binoculars
Right Ascension (R.A.)15h 43m 03.76
Declination (Dec.)-10° 55` 57.9
Galactic Latitude33.61276385 °
Galactic Longitude356.31564922 °
1997 Distance from Earth17.44000 Parallax (milliarcseconds)
187.02 Light Years
57.34 Parsecs
2007 Distance from Earth17.16000 Parallax (milliarcseconds)
190.07 Light Years
58.28 Parsecs
12,021,029.144 Astronomical Units
Galacto-Centric Distance23,979.529 Light Years / 7,352 Parsecs
Proper Motion Dec.-304.36000 ± 0.46000 milliarcseconds/year
Proper Motion RA.-1114.93000 ± 0.68000 milliarcseconds/year
B-V Index0.48
Radial Velocity-171.12000 ± 0.29 km/s
Iron Abundance (Fe/H)-2.2700 ± 9.99
Eccentricity0.97450
Semi-Major Axis2518.0000000
Luminosity (Lsun)4.5900000

Estimated Calculated Facts


Surface Temperature

Sources and Links


Modified Date9th July 2024
Published DateJan 2015
SIMBAD SourceLink

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Methuselah Star Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more) (2024)

FAQs

Methuselah Star Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more)? ›

HD 140283 (also known as the Methuselah star) is a metal-poor subgiant

subgiant
A subgiant is a star that is brighter than a normal main-sequence star of the same spectral class, but not as bright as giant stars. The term subgiant is applied both to a particular spectral luminosity class and to a stage in the evolution of a star.
https://en.wikipedia.org
star about 200 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Libra, near the boundary with Ophiuchus in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its apparent magnitude is 7.205, so it can be seen with binoculars. It is one of the oldest stars known.

What are some interesting facts about Methuselah star? ›

The curious star is located some 190 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Libra and it rapidly journeys across the sky at 800,000 mph (1.3 million kilometers per hour). Fast facts: – Methuselah covers the width of the moon in the night sky every 1,500 years.

What is the color of Methuselah? ›

Methuselah star (HD 140283) is a yellow subgiant located in the constellation Libra. With an estimated age of 12 billion years, it is one of the oldest stars known. Located at a distance of 200.5 light years from Earth, Methuselah is one of the nearest Population II stars to the Sun.

What Colour star is the oldest? ›

Thus the blue star, on that theory, would be the youngest, and the red star the oldest.

What is the mass of Methuselah? ›

The first is that the mass of the Methuselah star is 0.780 ± 0.010 solar masses, with an age of 13.7 ± 0.7 billion years. The second estimate was a mass and age of 0.805 ± 0.010 solar masses and an age of 12.2 ± 0.6 billion years, respectively.

What are some fun facts about Methuselah? ›

He is claimed to have lived the longest life, dying at 969 years of age. According to the Book of Genesis, Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah. Elsewhere in the Bible, Methuselah is mentioned in genealogies in 1 Chronicles and the Gospel of Luke.

What star was above Jesus? ›

The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask him: Adoration of the Magi by Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337).

Is Methuselah a star or planet? ›

HD 140283 (also known as the Methuselah star) is a metal-poor subgiant star about 200 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Libra, near the boundary with Ophiuchus in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its apparent magnitude is 7.205, so it can be seen with binoculars.

How long did Methuselah live? ›

Methuselah, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), patriarch whose life span as recorded in Genesis (5:27) was 969 years. Methuselah has survived in legend and tradition as the longest-lived human.

Who is the oldest color? ›

Scientists discovered ancient oceans were actually a rosy hue, making pink the world's oldest-known color. Researchers found the mighty little pink pigment in bacterial fossils from the Sahara Desert in Mauritania, West Africa.

Can a star be green? ›

Stars come in a wide variety of colors, but never green. Stars can be red, orange, yellow, white, or blue: a spectacular but incomplete color palette. Stars shine simply because they're matter, heated up to a specific temperature. They emit a broad spectrum of light, with light's spectral peak determining what we see.

What is the rarest color of star? ›

Class O stars are very hot, bright, and look bluish. The class O star is very rare. Only about 0.00003% of main-sequence stars are O stars. These are also some of the brightest, most massive stars in the sky, shining with over a million times the power of our sun.

Was a star born in color? ›

One of the first films to be shot in the new 3-strip Technicolor process, A Star is Born stars Janet Gaynor as Esther Blodgett, a starry-eyed Midwestern farm girl who dreams of going to Los Angeles and becoming a famous actress.

Where is Methuselah found? ›

Methuselah is located in the Inyo National Forest and sits in a remote area between California's Sierra Nevada range and the Nevada border.

What did Methuselah's name mean? ›

This Biblical name means "one who was sent" or "man of the dart." In the Hebrew Bible, Methuselah was the longest-living human being, having lived to be a whopping 969 years old.

What powers did Methuselah have? ›

Unlike many Titans, Methuselah lacks any elemental powers, instead relying on his massive size and strength to "bulldoze" other Titans in battle. He can use his powerful jaws and massive horns to inflict a great deal of damage and destruction. He can also effortlessly carry an entire human population on his back.

How old is the star Methuselah? ›

Methuselah's metallicity was carefully measured, and the age of the star was determined to be 14.46 billion years, with an error of 800 million years in either direction.

How bright is Methuselah star? ›

HD 140283 (also known as the Methuselah star) is a metal-poor subgiant star about 200 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Libra, near the boundary with Ophiuchus in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its apparent magnitude is 7.205, so it can be seen with binoculars.

Is Methuselah a planet or a star? ›

PSR B1620-26 b is an exoplanet located approximately 12,400 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius. It bears the unofficial nicknames "Methuselah" and "the Genesis planet" (named after the Biblical character Methuselah, who, according to the Bible, lived to be the oldest person) due to its extreme age.

What are some facts about the biggest star in the world? ›

UY Scuti is the largest star in the Universe observed so far. The red supergiant is 1,708 times wider than our Sun, with a radius of 1.2 billion km (738 million miles). The star can be found around 9,500 light-years away from Earth in the Scutum Constellation, around the centre of the Milky Way.

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