W Mensae
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation | Mensa |
| Right ascension | 05h 26m 24.52s |
| Declination | −71° 11′ 11.8″ |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | F8Iabp |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.4 |
| Apparent magnitude (R) | 13.700 |
| Apparent magnitude (J) | 13.032 |
| Apparent magnitude (H) | 12.831 |
| Apparent magnitude (K) | 12.296 |
| J−H color index | 0.201 |
| J−K color index | 0.736 |
| Variable type | R Coronae Borealis |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +260 km/s |
| Distance | ~168,000 ly (~51,500 pc) |
| Details | |
| Radius | 61[1] R☉ |
| Temperature | 6,300 K |
| Other designations | |
|
W Mensae, 2MASS J05262451-7111117
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|
W Mensae (W Men) is a variable star in the southern constellation Mensa. The star is classified as a yellow-white supergiant (spectral class F8 Iab).[2]
W Mensae is very distant, being located in the neighboring galaxy Large Magellanic Cloud, where it lies on the southern metal-deficient edge.[1] Despite its great luminosity, the star has a maximum apparent brightness of +13.8m,[2] too dim to be visible even for a small telescope. It belongs to the very rare R Coronae Borealis class of variables[2] which are often called "inverse novae" since they experience once a while very large drops in brightness. W Mensae is not an exception, since at minimum its brightness is less than +18.3m.[2] The variability of the star was discovered in 1927 by W. J. Luyten.[3] Its radius has been calculated to be 61 times that of the Sun.[1]
References
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