Star · K0IIIvar
Pollux
Pollux is a giant star of spectral type K0IIIvar in the constellation Gemini, 33.8 light-years from the Sun. It is orbited by 1 confirmed exoplanet(s).
| Other names | β Gem · HD 62509 · Gl 286 · HIP 37826 |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Gemini |
| Distance | 33.8 light-years (10.4 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 1.16 |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude 1.08 |
| Spectral type | K0IIIvar |
| Surface temperature | 4,890 K |
| Luminosity | 40.9 L☉ |
| Radius | 8.9 R☉ |
| Mass | 2 M☉ |
| Age | 1.0 billion years |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.10 |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 45m 19.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +28° 01′ 34″ |
| Space velocity (relative to the Sun) | 31.0 km/s |
In the sky
Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 1.16). Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 62° S. North of latitude 62° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1992. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 599 thousand years.
The Sun seen from there
From a planet around Pollux, the Sun would look like a star of magnitude 4.91, in the direction where our sky has the constellation Sagittarius. It would be visible to the naked eye.
Planets
- HD 62509 b 590-day orbit · 13.3 R⊕
Neighbours
Its nearest neighbours in the catalogue (within 20 light-years):
- SDSS J075840.33+324723.4 3.82 light-years
- WISEA J083011.95+283716.0 5.81 light-years
- Gl 268.3 6.54 light-years
- 2MASSI J0825196+211552 6.96 light-years
- 2MASS J07003664+3157266 7.01 light-years
- Gl 277B 7.65 light-years
- Gl 277A 7.66 light-years
- 2MASSI J0727182+171001 7.95 light-years
Stellar parameters from the NASA Exoplanet Archive; position and brightness from the HYG / AT-HYG catalogue.