Alpha Phoenicis (α Phoenicis, abbreviated Alpha Phe or α Phe), formally named Ankaa , (with the same pronunciation) is the brightest star in the constellation of Phoenix.

Nomenclature

''Alpha Phoenicis'' is the star's

Bayer designation A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek alphabet, Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive case, genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer design ...

. It also bore the traditional name ''Ankaa'' sometime after 1800, from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

العنقاء ''al-ʽanqāʼ'' "the phoenix" for the name of the constellation. The

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

has formally adopted the ''Ankaa'' as the proper name for Alpha Phoenicis. Medieval Arab astronomers formed the constellation of the

dhow Dhow (; ) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

(where Phoenix is), so another popular name for the star is ''Nair al Zaurak'' from نائر الزورق''nayyir az-zawraq'' "the bright (star) of the skiff". The Latin translation is ''Cymbae,'' from ''lūcida cumbae''. In

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

caused by adaptation of the European southern hemisphere constellations into the Chinese system, (), meaning ''

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

'', refers to an asterism consisting of α Phoenicis, ι Phoenicis, σ Phoenicis, ε Phoenicis, κ Phoenicis, μ Phoenicis, λ¹ Phoenicis, β Phoenicis and γ Phoenicis . Consequently, α Phoenicis itself is known as (, .)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 27 日

Description

Alpha Phoenicis is a

spectroscopic binary A binary star or binary star system is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved as separate stars us ...

star system with components that orbit each other every 3,848.8 days (10.5 years). The combined

stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction gratin ...

of the system is K0.5 IIIb, which matches the

spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

of a normal luminosity

giant star A giant star has a substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature. They lie above the main sequence (luminosity class V in the Yerkes spectral classification) on the Hertzsp ...

. It has an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star, astronomical object or other celestial objects like artificial satellites. Its value depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and any extinction of the object's light ca ...

of 2.4, so it is somewhat outshone by its first magnitude neighbors

Achernar Achernar is the brightest star in the constellation of Eridanus and the ninth-brightest in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Eridani, which is Latinized from α Eridani and abbreviated Alpha Eri or α Eri. The name Ac ...

(α Eridani) and

Fomalhaut Fomalhaut (, ) is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Piscis Austrini, which is an alternative ...

(α Piscis Austrinus). Based upon

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different sightline, lines of sight and is measured by the angle or half-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to perspective (graphica ...

measurements, this system is at a distance of about from the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. The

interferometry Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference (wave propagation), interference'' of Superposition principle, superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important inves ...

-measured

angular diameter The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular separation (in units of angle) describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the ''visual an ...

of the primary component, after correcting for

limb darkening Limb darkening is an optical effect seen in stars (including the Sun) and planets, where the central part of the disk appears brighter than the edge, or '' limb''. Its understanding offered early solar astronomers an opportunity to construct mode ...

, is , which, at its estimated distance, equates to a physical radius of about 15 times the

radius of the Sun Solar radius is a unit of distance used to express the size of objects in astronomy relative to the Sun. The solar radius is usually defined as the radius to the layer in the Sun's photosphere where the optical depth equals 2/3: 1\,R_ = 6.957\ti ...

References

{{Stars of Phoenix Phoenicis, Alpha K-type giants Phoenix (constellation) Spectroscopic binaries

Ankaa Alpha Phoenicis (α Phoenicis, abbreviated Alpha Phe or α Phe), formally named Ankaa , (with the same pronunciation) is the brightest star in the constellation of Phoenix. Nomenclature ''Alpha Phoenicis'' is the star's Bayer design ...

002081 0099 002261 Durchmusterung objects