 Peacock is the α star in the constellation of Pavo. |
|
| Observation data Epoch J2000 |
|
|---|---|
| Constellation (pronunciation) |
Pavo |
| Right ascension | 20h 25m 06s |
| Declination | −56° 44′ 06″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 1.94 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | B2 IV |
| U-B color index | −0.71 |
| B-V color index | −0.20 |
| Variable type | ? |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 2 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: 7.71 mas/yr Dec.: −86.15 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 17.8 ± 0.7 mas |
| Distance | 183 ± 7 ly (56 ± 2 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −1.81 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 5–6 M☉ |
| Radius | 4.4 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 2,100 L☉ |
| Temperature | 18,700 K |
| Metallicity | ? |
| Rotation | 39 km/s |
| Age | ? years |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Alpha Pavonis (α Pav) is a star in the constellation Pavo. It is also known by the name Peacock, but this is not a classical name. It was assigned to the star by Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office in the late 1930s during the creation of The Air Almanac, a navigational almanac for the Royal Air Force. Of the fifty-seven stars included in the new almanac, two had no classical names: epsilon Carinae and alpha Pavonis. The RAF insisted that all of the stars must have names, so new names were invented. Alpha Pavonis was named Peacock, for obvious reasons, whilst epsilon Carinae was called Avior.[1] The star has been found to be a spectroscopic binary star.
Notes
- ^ Sadler, D.H.: "A Personal History of H.M. Nautical Almanac Office", page 46. Edited and privately published by Wilkins, G.A., 1993
