Beta Pegasi
Red giant star at the upper right of the Great Square.
Beta Pegasi, also known as Scheat, is a red giant star and the second-brightest star in the constellation Pegasus. It marks the upper right corner of the Great Square of Pegasus, a prominent rectangular asterism.
Quick Facts
- Bayer designation
- β Pegasi
- Traditional name
- Scheat
- Distance from sun
- 196 light-years
- Stellar classification
- M2.3 II–III
- Radius
- 109 times the Sun's radius
- Luminosity
- 1,640 times the Sun's luminosity
- Effective temperature
- 3,600 K
Facts from the source article.
Nomenclature
The Bayer designation for this star is β Pegasi, Latinised to Beta Pegasi. Its traditional name, Scheat, was also used for Delta Aquarii and derives from the Arabic Al Sā'id, meaning "the upper arm," or from Sa'd. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Star Names approved Scheat for this star. In Chinese, it is part of an asterism called Encampment, which includes α Pegasi, and is known as "the Second Star of Encampment."
Distance and properties
Parallax measurements place Beta Pegasi about 196 light-years from the Sun. Its stellar classification of M2.3 II–III indicates characteristics between a bright giant and a giant star. It has expanded to 109 times the Sun's radius and shines with 1,640 times the Sun's luminosity. The effective temperature of its outer envelope is roughly 3,600 K, giving it an orange-red hue typical of M-type stars, and its photosphere is cool enough for titanium oxide molecules to form. Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt discovered its variability in 1847; it is a semi-regular variable with a 43.3-day period and a magnitude range of +2.31 to +2.74. The star loses mass at or below 10⁻⁸ solar masses per year, producing an expanding shell of gas and dust about 3,500 times the Sun's radius (16 astronomical units) across.
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