V Centauri (V Cen) is a

Classical Cepheid variable Classical Cepheids (also known as Population I Cepheids, Type I Cepheids, or Delta Cepheid variables) are a type of Cepheid variable star. They are population I variable stars that exhibit regular radial pulsations with periods of a few days to a ...

, a type of 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 ...

, in the constellation

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

. It is approximately 2,350 light-years (720 parsecs) away based on

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

. V Centauri varies regularly between

visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

s 4.2 and 7.2 every 5.5 days. It is classified as a

Cepheid variable A Cepheid variable () is a type of star that pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature and producing changes in brightness with a well-defined stable period and amplitude. A strong direct relationship between a Cepheid varia ...

on the basis of its light variations, with the brightness increase from minimum to maximum taking only a third of the time of the decrease from maximum to minimum. Cepheids are

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

s and V Centauri expands and contracts over its pulsation cycle as well as changing temperature. According to the South African Astronomical Observatory, the chemical composition was derived as being high in sodium (Na) and aluminium (Al) and low in magnesium (Mg). Following a normal composition for a Cepheid star, V Cen does not have any unusual characteristics. V Centauri's composition was observed alongside six other Classical Cepheid variable stars with the support of Russian, Chilean, and Ukrainian observatories.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:V Centauri Centaurus F-type supergiants Centauri, V 071116 Durchmusterung objects 127297 5421 Classical Cepheid variables