BC_Canis_Minoris
BC Canis Minoris
Star in the constellation Canis Minor
BC Canis Minoris is a variable star in the equatorial constellation of Canis Minor. It has a reddish hue and is just barely visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 6.30.[3] The distance to this object is approximately 520 light years based on parallax,[2] but it is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −67 km/s.[3]
This is an aging red giant star currently on the asymptotic giant branch[5] with a stellar classification of M4/5III.[6] It is a semi-regular variable of subtype SRb[4] with measured pulsation periods of 27.7, 143.3 and 208.3 days, and an average visual magnitude of 6.30.[8] With the supply of hydrogen at its core exhausted, it has cooled and expanded off the main sequence and now has around 60[2] times the girth of the Sun. On average, the star is radiating about 497[2] times the luminosity of the Sun from its swollen photosphere at an effective temperature of 3,507 K.[2]