Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 12, 2026

Beta Pavonis

Beta Pavonis is a single, white-hued star in the southern constellation of Pavo. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from β Pavonis, and abbreviated Beta Pav or β Pav. It can be seen with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 3.42. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 24.14 mas as seen from Earth, it is located 135 light-years from the Sun. It is moving away from the Sun with a radial velocity of +4 km/s. Beta Pavonis is a member of the Ursa Major Moving Group, a set of stars that share a similar motion through space.

Last revised
Jun 12, 2026
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β Pavonis
Location of β Pavonis (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Pavo
Right ascension 20h 44m 57.49399s1
Declination −66° 12′ 11.5708″1
Apparent magnitude (V) 3.422
Characteristics
Spectral type A5 IV3 or A7 III4
U−B color index +0.125
B−V color index +0.165
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)+3.7±0.56 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −42.671 mas/yr
Dec.: +9.941 mas/yr
Parallax (π)24.14±0.16 mas1
Distance135.1 ± 0.9 ly
(41.4 ± 0.3 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)+0.332
Details
Mass2.513 M☉
Radius2.37 R☉
Luminosity663 L☉
Surface gravity (log g)3.848 cgs
Temperature8,184±2788 K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)753 km/s
Age3058 Myr
Other designations
β Pav, CPD−66°3501, FK5 775, GC 28862, HD 197051, HIP 102395, HR 7913, SAO 254862
Database references
SIMBADdata

Beta Pavonis is a single,9 white-hued star in the southern constellation of Pavo. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from β Pavonis, and abbreviated Beta Pav or β Pav. It can be seen with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 3.42.2 Based upon an annual parallax shift of 24.14 mas as seen from Earth, it is located 135 light-years from the Sun. It is moving away from the Sun with a radial velocity of +4 km/s.6 Beta Pavonis is a member of the Ursa Major Moving Group, a set of stars that share a similar motion through space.10

Zorec and Royer (2012) list a stellar classification for this star of A5 IV,3 indicating it is an evolving subgiant star that has consumed the hydrogen at its core and has begun to expand onto the red giant branch. However, Houk (1979) listed a more evolved class of A7 III,4 suggesting it is already a giant star. It has about 2.37 times the Sun's radius and 2.513 times the mass of the Sun. At the estimated age of 3058 million years, the star still has a relatively high rate of spin, having a projected rotational velocity of 75 km/s.3 Beta Pavonis is radiating 663 times the Sun's luminosity from its photosphere at an effective temperature of about 8,184 K.8

References

References

  1. Van Leeuwen, F. (2007). "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 474 (2): 653–664. arXiv:0708.1752. Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357. S2CID 18759600. Vizier catalog entry Archived 2021-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012). "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation". Astronomy Letters. 38 (5): 331. arXiv:1108.4971. Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A. doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015. S2CID 119257644. Vizier catalog entry Archived 2016-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Zorec, J.; Royer, F. (2012). "Rotational velocities of A-type stars". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 537: A120. arXiv:1201.2052. Bibcode:2012A&A...537A.120Z. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117691. S2CID 55586789. Vizier catalog entry Archived 2016-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Houk, Nancy (1979). Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD stars. Vol. 1. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan. Bibcode:1978mcts.book.....H.
  5. Mallama, A. (2014). "Sloan Magnitudes for the Brightest Stars". The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. 42 (2): 443. Bibcode:2014JAVSO..42..443M.Vizier catalog entry Archived 2016-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Gontcharov, G. A. (2006). "Pulkovo Compilation of Radial Velocities for 35 495 Hipparcos stars in a common system". Astronomy Letters. 32 (11): 759–771. arXiv:1606.08053. Bibcode:2006AstL...32..759G. doi:10.1134/S1063773706110065. S2CID 119231169.
  7. Pasinetti Fracassini, L. E.; et al. (February 2001). "Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS)". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 367 (Third ed.): 521–524. arXiv:astro-ph/0012289. Bibcode:2001A&A...367..521P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20000451. S2CID 425754.
  8. David, Trevor J.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A. (2015). "The Ages of Early-Type Stars: Strömgren Photometric Methods Calibrated, Validated, Tested, and Applied to Hosts and Prospective Hosts of Directly Imaged Exoplanets". The Astrophysical Journal. 804 (2): 146. arXiv:1501.03154. Bibcode:2015ApJ...804..146D. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/804/2/146. S2CID 33401607. Vizier catalog entry Archived 2022-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Eggleton, P. P.; Tokovinin, A. A. (September 2008). "A catalogue of multiplicity among bright stellar systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 389 (2): 869–879. arXiv:0806.2878. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.389..869E. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13596.x. S2CID 14878976.
  10. Chupina, N. V.; et al. (June 2006). "Kinematic structure of the corona of the Ursa Major flow found using proper motions and radial velocities of single stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 451 (3): 909–916. Bibcode:2006A&A...451..909C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20054009.