49 Camelopardalis
A magnetic chemically peculiar star with rotationally modulated brightness.
49 Camelopardalis, also known by its variable star designation BC Camelopardalis, lies about 309 light-years from the Sun in the northern circumpolar constellation Camelopardalis. With an apparent visual magnitude of roughly 6.4, it is difficult to see without optical aid. The star is moving away from Earth at a heliocentric radial velocity of +6.5 km/s.
This is a magnetic chemically peculiar star of spectral type A7VpSrCrEuSiKsn, meaning it is an A-type main-sequence star with enhanced abundances of elements such as strontium and europium, along with broad, nebulous spectral lines. Its magnetic field has a relatively complex structure, and distinct abundance patterns are found across its surface.
In 1974, Walter K. Bonsack and colleagues discovered that 49 Camelopardalis is a variable star. It is classified as an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum type variable, with its brightness varying between visual magnitudes +6.43 and +6.48 over a rotationally-modulated period of 4.29 days.
The star has about 1.9 times the mass of the Sun and 2.3 times its radius. It is roughly 891 million years old and rotates with a period of 4.29 days. From its photosphere, at an effective temperature of 7,740 K, it radiates 17 times the Sun’s luminosity.
- Flamsteed designation
- 49 Camelopardalis
- Variable star designation
- BC Camelopardalis
- Distance from sun
- 309 light years
- Apparent visual magnitude
- 6.4 (varies from +6.43 to +6.48)
- Radial velocity
- +6.5 km/s (moving away)
- Stellar classification
- A7VpSrCrEuSiKsn
- Rotation period
- 4.29 days
Lore & Background
49 Camelopardalis is classified as an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum type variable star. Its brightness varies from visual magnitude +6.43 down to +6.48 with a rotationally-modulated period of 4.29 days. The variability was discovered by Walter K. Bonsack et al. in 1974. The star has a stellar classification of A7VpSrCrEuSiKsn, indicating it is an A-type main-sequence star with overabundances of various elements including strontium and europium, as well as broad, 'nebulous' lines. Its magnetic field shows a relatively complex structure, in combination with distinct abundance patterns across the surface.
Reader's Guide
49 Camelopardalis is significant as an example of a magnetic chemically peculiar star, a class that provides insight into the interaction between stellar magnetic fields and surface element distributions. Its classification as an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variable links it to a group of stars whose brightness variations are driven by rotation and non-uniform surface abundances. The star's relatively complex magnetic field and distinct abundance patterns make it a valuable object for studying stellar magnetism and chemical peculiarity. With a mass 1.9 times that of the Sun and a radius 2.3 times solar, it radiates 17 times the Sun's luminosity at an effective temperature of 7,740 K. Its age is estimated at around 891 million years. The star's rotation period of 4.29 days matches its variability period, confirming that the brightness changes are rotationally modulated. As a challenge to view with the naked eye, it represents the fainter end of variable stars accessible to amateur observers.
Did You Know?
- 49 Camelopardalis has the variable star designation BC Camelopardalis.
- Its brightness varies from magnitude +6.43 to +6.48 with a period of 4.29 days.
- It is a magnetic chemically peculiar star with overabundances of strontium and europium.
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