Beta Crateris is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Crater. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from β Crateris and abbreviated Beta Crt or β Crt. This system visible to the naked eye as a point of light with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.46. Based upon an annual parallax shift of as seen from Earth, it is located at a distance of approximately from the Sun.
Properties This is an astrometric binary star system with an orbital period of 6.0 years and a projected separation of 8.3 AU. The orbit has an estimated semimajor axis of 9.3 AU. The primary component A is listed as an A-type giant star with a stellar classification of A2 III. However, Houk and Smith-Moore (1988) give a main sequence classification of A1 V, while Abt and Morrell (1995) list it as a subgiant star with a class of A2 IV. The spectrum shows enhanced barium, possibly as a result of a previous mass transfer event.
The companion, component B, is a white dwarf of class DA with an effective temperature of 36,885 K that has been cooling down for around four million years. It has an unusually low mass, 43% that of the Sun, suggesting that the white dwarf progenitor may have transferred matter to its companion. Alternative scenarios require either the evolution of a triple star system or a binary system with a highly eccentric orbit, resulting in grazing interactions. The dwarf is a source of X-ray emission.
Name This star was one of the sets assigned by the 16th-century astronomer Al Tizini to Al Sharāsīf (ألشراسيف), the Ribs (of Hydra), which included the stars from β Crateris westward through κ Hydrae.
According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, Al Sharāsīf were the titles for two stars: β Crateris as Al Sharasīf II and κ Hydrae as Al Sharasīf I.
In Chinese, (), meaning Wings (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of β Crateris, α Crateris, γ Crateris, ζ Crateris, λ Crateris, ν Hydrae, η Crateris, δ Crateris, ι Crateris, κ Crateris, ε Crateris, HD 95808, HD 93833, θ Crateris, HD 102574, HD 100219, HD 99922, HD 100307, HD 96819, χ1 Hydrae, HD 102620 and HD 103462. 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, . Consequently, β Crateris itself is known as (, .) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 5 月 31 日 夢之大地 @ 國立成功大學 WebBBS DreamLand @ National Cheng Kung University WebBBS System
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