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Sigma Octantis

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Also known as Polaris Australis

star in the constellation Octans

Key facts

Constellation
Octans
Right ascension
21 08 46.86357
Declination
−88 ° 57 ′ 23.3983 ″
Spectral type
F0 IV
U b color index
+0.13
B v color index
+0.26
Variable type
δ Sct

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth
90.086
Radius
4.2
Mass
2.7
Image
Octans trapezoid.GIF
Show 13 more facts
spectral class
F0
catalog code
UBV M 23463
apparent magnitude
5.374763
parallax
11.1005
radial velocity
12.0
absolute magnitude
0.83
luminosity
39.8
stellar rotational velocity
145
declination component of proper motion
4.721
right ascension component of proper motion
26.323
age estimated by a dating method
912
right ascension
317.19526487582993
declination
-88.95649953627
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~4 min read

Article

Sigma Octantis is a solitary star in the Octans constellation that forms the pole star of the Southern Hemisphere. Its name is also written as σ Octantis, abbreviated as Sigma Oct or σ Oct, and it is officially named Polaris Australis (/poʊˈlɛərɪs ɔːˈstreɪlɪs/). The star is positioned one degree away from the southern celestial pole of the Southern Hemisphere, lying in a nearly opposite direction to the North Star on the celestial sphere.

Located approximately 294 light-years from Earth, it is classified as a subgiant with a spectral type of F0 IV. Sigma Octantis has an apparent magnitude of 5.5, but is slightly variable and is classified as a Delta Scuti variable.

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