8 Leonis Minoris
8 Leonis Minoris (8 LMi) is a solitary, red hued star located in the northern constellation Leo Minor. It has an apparent magnitude 5.37, making it faintly visible to the naked eye. Based on parallax measurements from the Gaia satellite, the object is estimated to be 492 light years distant. It is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 40 km/s. At its current distance, 8 LMi is diminshed by 0.12 magnitudes due to interstellar dust.
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Leo Minor |
| Right ascension | 09h 31m 32.41045s |
| Declination | +35° 06′ 11.7793″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 5.37 |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | AGB |
| Spectral type | M1 IIIab |
| U−B color index | +1.81 |
| B−V color index | +1.53 |
| Variable type | suspected |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 39.83±0.18 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −54.488 mas/yr Dec.: −97.434 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 6.6271 ± 0.0238 mas |
| Distance | 492 ± 2 ly (150.9 ± 0.5 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −0.43 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 1.59 M☉ |
| Radius | 48.5 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 417±17 L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 1.153 cgs |
| Temperature | 3,978±122 K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.25 dex |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
This is an asymptotic giant branch star with stellar classification of M1 IIIab. It has 1.59 times the mass of the Sun but has expanded to 48.5 times its girth. It radiates 417 times the luminosity of the Sun from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 3,978 K. 8 LMi has an iron abundance only half of the Sun's, making it metal deficient.
8 LMi's variability was first observed to be variable in 1930 by Joel Stebbins. However, Eggen (1967) instead lists it as an ordinary M-type giant and used the object for comparison. In 1978-9, 8 LMi was again listed as a variable star but did not provide further insight. As of 2017, the star has not been confirmed to be variable.