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.
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 Name | Methuselah Star |
---|---|
Spectral Type | sdF3 |
Star Type | Chemically Peculiar Star |
Galaxy | Milky Way |
Constellation | Libra |
Main Star | No |
Absolute Magnitude | 3.41 / 3.37 |
Visual / Apparent Magnitude | 7.2 |
Visible From Earth | Requires a 7x50 Binoculars |
Right Ascension (R.A.) | 15h 43m 03.76 |
Declination (Dec.) | -10° 55` 57.9 |
Galactic Latitude | 33.61276385 ° |
Galactic Longitude | 356.31564922 ° |
1997 Distance from Earth | 17.44000 Parallax (milliarcseconds) |
187.02 Light Years | |
57.34 Parsecs | |
2007 Distance from Earth | 17.16000 Parallax (milliarcseconds) |
190.07 Light Years | |
58.28 Parsecs | |
12,021,029.144 Astronomical Units | |
Galacto-Centric Distance | 23,979.529 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 Index | 0.48 |
Radial Velocity | -171.12000 ± 0.29 km/s |
Iron Abundance (Fe/H) | -2.2700 ± 9.99 |
Eccentricity | 0.97450 |
Semi-Major Axis | 2518.0000000 |
Luminosity (Lsun) | 4.5900000 |
Estimated Calculated Facts
Surface Temperature |
Sources and Links
Modified Date | 9th July 2024 |
Published Date | Jan 2015 |
SIMBAD Source | Link |
Comments and Questions
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