Star
Mira
Red star · M5e-M9e
ο Ceti · Cetus
Photo: Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin. · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mira is a binary star system in the constellation Cetus. It has the Bayer designation Omicron Ceti, which is Latinized from ο Ceti, and abbreviated Omicron Cet or ο Cet. The system consists of a variable red giant along with a white dwarf companion. Mira A is a pulsating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered, with the possible exception of Algol. It is the prototype of the Mira variables. The system lies at a distance of 300 light-years.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Key facts
Distance
~299 light-years
Apparent mag.
+6.47
Spectral type
M5e-M9e
Luminosity
18.9 × Sun
Absolute mag.
+1.66
Catalogue
HIP 10826
Spectral type
M5e-M9e
True colour from its B–V index (0.97): a surface around 4800 K.
Did you know
- Mira is also known as ο Ceti.
- Its spectral type M5e-M9e marks it as a red star.
- It lies in the constellation Cetus.
