V382 Carinae
A yellow hypergiant and bright variable star in Carina.
V382 Carinae, also designated x Carinae (x Car), is a yellow hypergiant star in the constellation Carina. It is a G-type star with a mean apparent magnitude of +3.93 and is a low-amplitude variable star.
Quick Facts
- Apparent magnitude
- +3.93
- Spectral type
- G-type
- Distance
- 2623 pc
- Luminosity
- 320,000 solar luminosities
Facts from the source article.
Variability
The radial velocity of V382 Carinae has long been known to vary, but its brightness variations were initially unclear, with some observers detecting changes and others finding it constant. It was formally named a variable star in 1981 as a possible δ Cephei variable, and has been described as a pseudo-Cepheid with less regular pulsations. Hipparcos photometry later showed a maximum range of 0.12 magnitudes, leading to its treatment as an α Cygni variable; a period of 556 days was suggested but is not entirely consistent. It is now generally considered a semiregular or irregular supergiant.
Properties
V382 Car is the brightest yellow hypergiant in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye and brighter than Rho Cassiopeiae, though not visible from much of the northern hemisphere. It is estimated to be 2623 pc away, with about 620 times the Sun's radius and 320,000 times its luminosity; placed at the Solar System's center, its surface would reach the asteroid belt. Its low infrared excess suggests it may be cooling toward a red supergiant phase, a less common evolutionary direction for yellow hypergiants.
More in Stars of Carina
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