Polaris Comparison Table

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physical object > naked eye object > naked eye star > Polaris

Next binary star: RS CVn star Up: binary star, F star, naked eye star, Population I Cepheid, supergiant Previous binary star: Mira

Polaris comparison table

Subject has right ascension has declination has spectral type is part of has surface temperature is an instance of has optical brightness variation has V magnitude has observational problem has author has color has been observ has B-V magnitude has distance has prototype has abundance has primary has period is usually part of has absolute magnitude is a kind of has apparent magnitude has name designated with has observable variation time scale has use has synonym has definition has luminosity class has number of star

binary star greater than 1000 Kelvin half the stars in the solar neighborhood are members of star systems star system A system of two stars orbiting around a common center of gravity. Visual binaries are those whose components can be resolved telescopically (i.e., angular separation > 0'.5) and which have detectable orbital motion. Astrometric binaries are those whose dual nature can be deduced from their variable proper motion; spectroscopic binaries, those whose dual nature can be deduced from their variable radial velocity. At least half of the stars in the solar neighborhood are members of binary (or multiple) systems. (See photometric binaries; optical pairs.) 2

F star O, B, A, and early F 6000 to 7500 K yellow-white early star Star of spectral type F in which lines of hydrogen and Ca II are of about equal strength. Metal lines also become noticeable.

naked eye star Milky Way greater than 1000 Kelvin for many centuries asterism naked eye object brighter than 5 A star visible without visual aids

Population I Cepheid F star, G star and K star disk greater than 1000 Kelvin 0.2 magnitudes or greater some difficulty in distinguishing between various kinds Baade (1944) delta Cephei 5-10 days <M_v> = -0.5 to -6 Population I star
R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z and the genitive of the latin constellation name
RR, RS, RT, RU, RV, RW, RX, RY, or RZ and the genitive of the latin constellation name when the single letter designations are exhausted
AA...AZ, BB...BZ, etc. (omitting J), which ends with QQ...QZ and the genitive of the latin constellation namewhen the RR...RZ designations are exhausted
V 335, V 336, etc., when the double letter designations are exhausted
within a period of decades young disk Cepheid A Cepheid which is about 4 times more luminous than Population II Cepheids, probably because of their higher metal content (although mass may also be a factor).

supergiant greater than 1000 Kelvin star An extremely luminous star of large diameter and low density. No supergiants are near enough to establish a trigonometric parallax. I

Polaris 2 31 50.5 +89 15 51 F7:Ib-IIv disk 6000 to 7500 K binary star 0.2 magnitudes or greater 2.02 some difficulty in distinguishing between various kinds Baade (1944) yellow-white for many centuries 0.60 330 light-years delta Cephei half the stars in the solar neighborhood are members of star systems F8 Ib 3.97 days asterism <M_v> = -0.5 to -6 brighter than 5
R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z and the genitive of the latin constellation name
RR, RS, RT, RU, RV, RW, RX, RY, or RZ and the genitive of the latin constellation name when the single letter designations are exhausted
AA...AZ, BB...BZ, etc. (omitting J), which ends with QQ...QZ and the genitive of the latin constellation namewhen the RR...RZ designations are exhausted
V 335, V 336, etc., when the double letter designations are exhausted
within a period of decades The star that lies near the direction in the sky toward which the North Pole of the Earth points. alpha UMi A supergiant F8 Ib, F3 V visual binary, with an orbital period of thousands of years. The primary (a Cepheid with a pulsation period of 3.97 days) is itself a single-lined spectroscopic double with a period of 29.6 years. There are at least two more faint (12th mag) components of the system. I 2

Next binary star: RS CVn star Up: binary star, F star, naked eye star, Population I Cepheid, supergiant Previous binary star: Mira

Subject	has right ascension	has declination	has spectral type	is part of	has surface temperature	is an instance of	has optical brightness variation	has V magnitude	has observational problem	has author	has color	has been observ	has B-V magnitude	has distance	has prototype	has abundance	has primary	has period	is usually part of	has absolute magnitude	is a kind of	has apparent magnitude	has name designated with	has observable variation time scale	has use	has synonym	has definition	has luminosity class	has number of star
binary star					greater than 1000 Kelvin											half the stars in the solar neighborhood are members of star systems					star system						A system of two stars orbiting around a common center of gravity. Visual binaries are those whose components can be resolved telescopically (i.e., angular separation > 0'.5) and which have detectable orbital motion. Astrometric binaries are those whose dual nature can be deduced from their variable proper motion; spectroscopic binaries, those whose dual nature can be deduced from their variable radial velocity. At least half of the stars in the solar neighborhood are members of binary (or multiple) systems. (See photometric binaries; optical pairs.)		2
F star			O, B, A, and early F		6000 to 7500 K						yellow-white										early star						Star of spectral type F in which lines of hydrogen and Ca II are of about equal strength. Metal lines also become noticeable.
naked eye star				Milky Way	greater than 1000 Kelvin							for many centuries							asterism		naked eye object	brighter than 5					A star visible without visual aids
Population I Cepheid			F star, G star and K star	disk	greater than 1000 Kelvin		0.2 magnitudes or greater		some difficulty in distinguishing between various kinds	Baade (1944)					delta Cephei			5-10 days		<M_v> = -0.5 to -6	Population I star		R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z and the genitive of the latin constellation name RR, RS, RT, RU, RV, RW, RX, RY, or RZ and the genitive of the latin constellation name when the single letter designations are exhausted AA...AZ, BB...BZ, etc. (omitting J), which ends with QQ...QZ and the genitive of the latin constellation namewhen the RR...RZ designations are exhausted V 335, V 336, etc., when the double letter designations are exhausted	within a period of decades		young disk Cepheid	A Cepheid which is about 4 times more luminous than Population II Cepheids, probably because of their higher metal content (although mass may also be a factor).
supergiant					greater than 1000 Kelvin																star						An extremely luminous star of large diameter and low density. No supergiants are near enough to establish a trigonometric parallax.	I
Polaris	2 31 50.5	+89 15 51	F7:Ib-IIv	disk	6000 to 7500 K	binary star	0.2 magnitudes or greater	2.02	some difficulty in distinguishing between various kinds	Baade (1944)	yellow-white	for many centuries	0.60	330 light-years	delta Cephei	half the stars in the solar neighborhood are members of star systems	F8 Ib	3.97 days	asterism	<M_v> = -0.5 to -6		brighter than 5	R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z and the genitive of the latin constellation name RR, RS, RT, RU, RV, RW, RX, RY, or RZ and the genitive of the latin constellation name when the single letter designations are exhausted AA...AZ, BB...BZ, etc. (omitting J), which ends with QQ...QZ and the genitive of the latin constellation namewhen the RR...RZ designations are exhausted V 335, V 336, etc., when the double letter designations are exhausted	within a period of decades	The star that lies near the direction in the sky toward which the North Pole of the Earth points.	alpha UMi	A supergiant F8 Ib, F3 V visual binary, with an orbital period of thousands of years. The primary (a Cepheid with a pulsation period of 3.97 days) is itself a single-lined spectroscopic double with a period of 29.6 years. There are at least two more faint (12th mag) components of the system.	I	2