HD 113766
HD 113766 is a binary star system located 424 light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Centaurus. The star system is approximately 10 million years old and both stars are slightly more massive than the Sun. The two are separated by an angle of 1.3 arcseconds, which, at the distance of this system, corresponds to a projected separation of at least 170 AU.
An artists conception of the HD 113766 system showing the protoplanetary disk around HD 113766 A and its companion star HD 113766 B. | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Right ascension | 13h 06m 35.83622s |
| Declination | −46° 02′ 02.0178″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.56 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | F3 / F5V |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | –0.6 km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: -34.09 mas/yr Dec.: -17.90 mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 8.16 ± 1.01 mas |
| Distance | approx. 400 ly (approx. 120 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 2.99 |
| Details | |
| Luminosity | 4.4 L☉ |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | +0.01 dex |
| Age | 16 million years |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
What makes HD 113766 special is the presence of a large belt of warm (~440 K) dust surrounding the star HD 113766 A. The dense dust belt, more than 100 times more massive than the Solar System's asteroid belt, is thought to be collapsing to form a rocky planet, which when it has formed will lie within the star's terrestrial habitable zone where liquid water can exist on its surface. HD 113766 represents the most well understood system in a growing class of objects that should provide more clues to how rocky planets like the Earth formed.