From Handwiki - Reading time: 2 min| Observation data Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Musca |
| Right ascension | 11h 48m 14.53282s[1] |
| Declination | −66° 48′ 53.6712″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.6 - 4.8[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | K4 III[3] |
| U−B color index | +1.89[4] |
| B−V color index | +1.54[4] |
| Variable type | Lb[2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +37.4±2.8[5] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −31.223[1] mas/yr Dec.: −15.938[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 7.2113 ± 0.1762[1] mas |
| Distance | 450 ± 10 ly (139 ± 3 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −0.85[6] |
| Details | |
| Radius | 52.92+1.01 −0.95[1] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 602.0±16.9[1] L☉ |
| Temperature | 3,930+36 −37[1] K |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Mu Muscae, Latinized from μ Muscae, is a solitary[8] star in the southern constellation of Musca. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of around 4.75.[4] Based upon an annual parallax shift of 7.21 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 450 light years from the Sun. The star is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +37 km/s.[5]
This is an evolved K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K4 III,[3] having exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core then cooled and expanded to 53[1] times the Sun's radius. It most likely on the red giant branch, rather than the asymptotic giant branch, and shows no signs of mass loss. Mu Muscae is a type Lb, oxygen-rich irregular variable with a small amplitude[9] that ranges in visual magnitude between 4.71 and 4.76.[10] It is radiating 602 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 3,930 K.[1]