Omicron¹ Centauri (ο¹ Cen, ο¹ Centauri) is a

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Centaurus Centaurus () is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the 88 modern constellations by area, largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one ...

. It is approximately 10,000

light year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...

s from

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 ...

, though this is very uncertain. Omicron1CenLightCurve

ο¹ Centauri is a yellow G-type

supergiant Supergiants are among the most massive and most luminous stars. Supergiant stars occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, with absolute visual magnitudes between about −3 and −8. The temperatures of supergiant stars range ...

hypergiant A hypergiant ( luminosity class 0 or Ia+) is a very rare type of star that has an extremely high luminosity, mass, size and mass loss because of its extreme stellar winds. The term ''hypergiant'' is defined as luminosity class 0 (zero) in the MK ...

with a mean

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the Irradiance, 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 (astronomy), ...

of +5.13.

Daniel Joseph Kelly O'Connell Daniel Joseph Kelly O'Connell was a seismologist, astronomer and Jesuit priest who is particularly known for his work in observational astronomy. He worked primarily observing binary star systems, and was involved in photographing the Green Flas ...

discovered that the star is a

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes systematically with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are ...

by studying

photographic plate Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...

s taken from 1934 to 1952, and announced his discovery in 1961. It is classified as a semiregular variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +5.8 to +6.6 with a period of 200 days. Other studies have reported only small brightness variations. It is the MK spectral standard for class G3 O-Ia, indicating a highly luminous mass-losing

star. It has also be classified as F8 Ia0 and F7 Ia/ab. The size, luminosity, and distance are equally uncertain. ο¹ Cen forms a very close

naked eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...

double star with ο² Centauri, a hotter

blue supergiant A blue supergiant (BSG) is a hot, luminous star, often referred to as an OB supergiant. They are usually considered to be those with luminosity class I and spectral class B9 or earlier, although sometimes A-class supergiants are also deemed blu ...

that may be physically associated. ο¹ Cen also has an 11th magnitude companion only 13.5" distant, although it appears to be a foreground star unrelated to the other two. ο¹ Cen is located very close to

V382 Carinae V382 Carinae, also known as x Carinae (x Car), is a yellow hypergiant in the constellation Carina. It is a G-type star with a mean apparent magnitude of +3.93, and a variable star of low amplitude. Variability The radial velocity of V3 ...

, the brightest yellow hypergiant star in the night sky.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omicron1 Centauri Centauri, Omicron1 Centaurus Semiregular variable stars G-type hypergiants 4441 056243 100261 Durchmusterung objects