Recent from talks
Denebola
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Denebola
Denebola is the second-brightest star in the zodiac constellation of Leo. It is the easternmost of the bright stars of Leo. It has the Bayer designation Beta Leonis or β Leonis, which are abbreviated Beta Leo or β Leo. Denebola is an A-type main sequence star with 75% more mass than the Sun and 15 times the Sun's luminosity. Based on parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, the star is at a distance of 36 light-years (11 parsecs) from the Sun. Its apparent visual magnitude is 2.14, making it readily visible to the naked eye. Denebola is a Delta Scuti type variable star, meaning its luminosity varies very slightly over a period of a few hours.
β Leonis (Latinised to Beta Leonis) is the star's Bayer designation. In Johann Bayer's Uranometria (1603), it was designated β (Beta) as the second-brightest star in the constellation. It also bears the Flamsteed designation of 94 Leonis (assigned on the basis of increasing right ascension rather than luminosity) and additional designations followed as the star was recorded in subsequent star catalogues.
The traditional name Denebola is shortened from Deneb Alased, from the Arabic phrase ذنب الاسد ðanab al-asad 'tail of the lion', as it represents the lion's tail, the star's position in the Leo constellation. (Deneb in Cygnus has a similar name origin.) In the Alphonsine Tables it was recorded as Denebalezeth. On R. A. Proctor's 1871 star chart of the Northern Hemisphere it was designated Deneb Aleet. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN, which included Denebola for this star. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.
15th century astronomer Ulugh Beg, gives the name Al Ṣarfah, the Changer (i.e. of the weather), as the star's individual title. Al-Biruni, a Muslim scholar and polymath of the 11th century, wrote of it: "The heat turns away when it rises, and the cold turns away when it disappears."
Ancient Chinese astronomers designated it the first star of the five-star asterism "Seat of the Five Emperors", hence its Chinese name 五帝座一 (Wǔdìzuò-yī).
In Hindu astronomy, Denebola corresponds to the Nakshatra (a sector along the ecliptic) named Uttara Phalgunī (second reddish one).
Denebola, along with Spica and Arcturus, is part of the Spring Triangle asterism, and by extension, also of the Great Diamond together with the star Cor Caroli.
Denebola is a relatively young star with an age estimated at less than 400 million years. Interferometric observations give a radius that is about 173% that of the Sun. Its high rate of rotation results in an oblate shape with an equatorial bulge. It has 75% more mass than the Sun, which results in a much higher overall luminosity and a shorter life span on the main sequence.
Hub AI
Denebola AI simulator
(@Denebola_simulator)
Denebola
Denebola is the second-brightest star in the zodiac constellation of Leo. It is the easternmost of the bright stars of Leo. It has the Bayer designation Beta Leonis or β Leonis, which are abbreviated Beta Leo or β Leo. Denebola is an A-type main sequence star with 75% more mass than the Sun and 15 times the Sun's luminosity. Based on parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, the star is at a distance of 36 light-years (11 parsecs) from the Sun. Its apparent visual magnitude is 2.14, making it readily visible to the naked eye. Denebola is a Delta Scuti type variable star, meaning its luminosity varies very slightly over a period of a few hours.
β Leonis (Latinised to Beta Leonis) is the star's Bayer designation. In Johann Bayer's Uranometria (1603), it was designated β (Beta) as the second-brightest star in the constellation. It also bears the Flamsteed designation of 94 Leonis (assigned on the basis of increasing right ascension rather than luminosity) and additional designations followed as the star was recorded in subsequent star catalogues.
The traditional name Denebola is shortened from Deneb Alased, from the Arabic phrase ذنب الاسد ðanab al-asad 'tail of the lion', as it represents the lion's tail, the star's position in the Leo constellation. (Deneb in Cygnus has a similar name origin.) In the Alphonsine Tables it was recorded as Denebalezeth. On R. A. Proctor's 1871 star chart of the Northern Hemisphere it was designated Deneb Aleet. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN, which included Denebola for this star. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.
15th century astronomer Ulugh Beg, gives the name Al Ṣarfah, the Changer (i.e. of the weather), as the star's individual title. Al-Biruni, a Muslim scholar and polymath of the 11th century, wrote of it: "The heat turns away when it rises, and the cold turns away when it disappears."
Ancient Chinese astronomers designated it the first star of the five-star asterism "Seat of the Five Emperors", hence its Chinese name 五帝座一 (Wǔdìzuò-yī).
In Hindu astronomy, Denebola corresponds to the Nakshatra (a sector along the ecliptic) named Uttara Phalgunī (second reddish one).
Denebola, along with Spica and Arcturus, is part of the Spring Triangle asterism, and by extension, also of the Great Diamond together with the star Cor Caroli.
Denebola is a relatively young star with an age estimated at less than 400 million years. Interferometric observations give a radius that is about 173% that of the Sun. Its high rate of rotation results in an oblate shape with an equatorial bulge. It has 75% more mass than the Sun, which results in a much higher overall luminosity and a shorter life span on the main sequence.
Recent media