74_Ophiuchi
74 Ophiuchi
Star in the constellation Ophiuchus
74 Ophiuchi is a suspected binary star[9] in the equatorial constellation of Ophiuchus, near the border with Serpens Cauda. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, yellow-hued point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.85.[2] The system is located at a distance of 238 light years from the Sun based on parallax,[1] and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +4.4 km/s.[5]
The primary member, designated component A, is an aging giant star with a stellar classification of G8III[3] and an estimated age of 1.73[7] billion years. Having exhausted the hydrogen supply at its core, the star has expanded to 10.5[1] times the Sun's radius. It is a red clump giant,[10] which means it is on the horizontal branch and is generating energy through helium fusion at its core. The star has 2.4[6] times the mass of the Sun and is radiating 66[1] times the Sun's luminosity from its swollen photosphere at an effective temperature of around 5,073 K.[1]
The magnitude 11.5 secondary, component B, lies at an angular separation of 28.1″ from the primary, as of 2008.[9] A visual companion, component C, is magnitude 12.28 and has a separation of 57.9″.[11]