Star
An orange giant and the brighter half of the wide double star that marks Volans.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 133 ly |
| Diameter | 14,205,300 km |
| Mass | 4.28 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 4,619°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 3.78 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 1597 |
Stars spend most of their lives fusing hydrogen into helium in their core, and it's the balance between that outward pressure and gravity pulling inward that fixes how big and how bright a star gets.
At 14,205,300 km across, Gamma2 Volantis is 10 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 2.1 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Gamma2 Volantis tonight left it around 133 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,892 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since 1597.
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