Alpha Circini
Alpha Circini is a variable star in the faint, southern, circumpolar constellation of Circinus. At an apparent visual magnitude of 3.19, it is the brightest star in the constellation and can be readily seen with the naked eye from the southern hemisphere. Parallax measurements of this star yield an estimated distance of from the Earth.
This star belongs to a class of variables known as rapidly oscillating Ap stars. It oscillates with multiple, non-radial pulsation cycles and a dominant cycle of 6.8 minutes. The spectrum shows peculiar features caused by chemical stratification of the outer atmosphere. It displays a moderate deficiency of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, while there is an overabundance of chromium. The stellar classification of A7 Vp SrCrEu indicates that this is a main sequence star with enhanced levels of strontium, chromium, and europium in its atmosphere.
The mass of Alpha Circini is about 150% to 170% the mass of the Sun and it has double the Sun's radius, while the luminosity is more than 10 times that of the Sun. The effective temperature of the outer envelope is about 7,500 K, giving it the white hue typical of A-type stars. It is rotating with a period of 4.5 days and the pole is inclined by about to the line of sight from the Earth.
Based upon its location and motion through space, Alpha Circini is a candidate member of a stellar kinematic group known as the Beta Pictoris moving group. This group shares a common origin and has an estimated age of about 12 million years. At the birth of this group, Alpha Circini was estimated to be located at a distance of about from the center of the assemblage.
