AK Pyxidis is a
semiregular variable star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...
located in the constellation
Pyxis
Pyxis is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Abbreviated from Pyxis Nautica, its name is Latin for a mariner's compass (contrasting with Circinus, which represents a draftsman's compasses). Pyxis was introduced by Nicolas-Louis ...
. It varies between magnitudes 6.09 and 6.51,
pulsating to multiple periods simultaneously of 55.5, 57.9, 86.7, 162.9 and 232.6 days.
Located around 1228 light-years distant, it shines with a
luminosity
Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a s ...
approximately 1500 times that of the Sun and has a surface temperature of 3410 K.
References
Pyxis
Semiregular variable stars
M-type giants
Pyxidis, AK
Durchmusterung objects
75306
043215
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