FR Canis Majoris

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FR Canis Majoris
Canis Major constellation map.svg
Red circle.svg
Location of FR Canis Majoris (circled in red)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0       Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Canis Major
Right ascension 06h 21m 24.72s [1]
Declination −11° 46′ 23.7″ [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)5.43 - 5.64 [2]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage main sequence [3]
Spectral type B1.5IVe [4]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)+16 [4] km/s
Proper motion (μ)RA: −2.273 [1] mas/yr
Dec.: +1.193 [1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)1.8635±0.0597  mas [1]
Distance 1,750 ± 60  ly
(540 ± 20  pc)
Absolute magnitude  (MV)−2.7 [5]
Details
Mass 10.7 [6]   M☉
Radius 7.9 [1]   R☉
Luminosity 11,194 [6]   L☉
Surface gravity (log g)3.97 [1]   cgs
Temperature 23,878 [6]   K
Rotation 0.924 days [7]
Rotational velocity (v sin i)232 [7]  km/s
Age 14.5 [3]   Myr
Other designations
FR CMa, BD−11 1460, HD 44458, HIP 30214, HR 2284, SAO 151401, TIC 443126408, TYC 5371-2101-1, IRAS 06190-1144, 2MASS J06212472-1146236 [4]
Database references
SIMBAD data

FR Canis Majoris (FR CMa) is a blue-white main sequence star located in the constellation of Canis Major. According to the new reduction of parallax data from the Hipparcos satellite, it is located approximately 1,750 light-years from the solar system. [8]

Contents

Observations

FR Canis Majoris is a blue-white main-sequence star of spectral type B1.5IVe. With an effective temperature of 23,878  K , its luminosity is over 10,000 times greater than that of the Sun. It rotates with a projected rotational velocity, the lower limit of its real equatorial rotation speed, of 232 km/s, its rotational axis being inclined at 48° with respect to the observer on Earth. It has a mass of about 11 solar masses, thus being above the limit beyond which stars violently end their lives by exploding as supernovae. Its age is estimated at 14.5 million years, which represents 83% of its main-sequence life. [3] It is a Be star and also a Gamma Cassiopeiae variable, eruptive variables that show irregular variations in their luminosity caused by the expulsion of matter with a variation amplitude of 0.116 magnitudes. [9] [10] [11]

It has an absolute magnitude of −2.7 and its positive radial velocity indicates that the star is moving away from the solar system. [12]

Companion

FR Canis Majoris has a magnitude 9.7 companion, 4.2 arcseconds distant and with a position angle of 23 degrees, which may actually be gravitationally bound to it. Another star of 11th magnitude is 56.5 arcseconds distant, but it may only be in the line of sight to Earth and is not bound to the main star. [13]

Reference

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv: 2208.00211 . Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202243940 . S2CID   244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. ↑ "FR CMa". International Variable Star Index. AAVSO . Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  3. 1 2 3 Zorec, J.; Frémat, Y.; Cidale, L. (2005). "On the evolutionary status of be stars. I. Field be stars near the Sun". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 441 (1): 235. arXiv: astro-ph/0509119 . Bibcode:2005A&A...441..235Z. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053051.
  4. 1 2 3 "FR Canis Majoris". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  5. ↑ Melnik, A. M.; Dambis, A. K. (2020). "Distance scale for high-luminosity stars in OB associations and in field with Gaia DR2. Spurious systematic motions". Astrophysics and Space Science. 365 (7): 112. arXiv: 2006.14649 . Bibcode:2020Ap&SS.365..112M. doi:10.1007/s10509-020-03827-0.
  6. 1 2 3 Quintana, Alexis L.; Wright, Nicholas J.; Martínez García, Juan (2025). "A census of OB stars within 1 KPC and the star formation and core collapse supernova rates of the Milky Way". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 538 (3): 1367. arXiv: 2503.08286 . Bibcode:2025MNRAS.538.1367Q. doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf083 .
  7. 1 2 Balona, Luis A.; Ozuyar, Dogus (2021). "TESS Observations of be Stars: General Characteristics and the Impulsive Magnetic Rotator Model". The Astrophysical Journal. 921 (1): 5. arXiv: 2008.06288 . Bibcode:2021ApJ...921....5B. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac1a77 .
  8. ↑ "FR Canis Majoris". www.alcyone.de. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  9. ↑ "VSX : Detail for FR CMa". vsx.aavso.org. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  10. ↑ Hohle, M.M.; Neuhäuser, R.; Schutz, B.F. (April 2010). "Masses and luminosities of O- and B-type stars and red supergiants". Astronomische Nachrichten. 331 (4): 349–360. arXiv: 1003.2335 . doi:10.1002/asna.200911355. ISSN   0004-6337.
  11. ↑ Frémat, Y.; Zorec, J.; Hubert, A.-M.; Floquet, M. (2005-09-01). "Effects of gravitational darkening on the determination of fundamental parameters in fast-rotating B-type stars". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 440 (1): 305–320. arXiv: astro-ph/0503381 . doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042229. ISSN   0004-6361.
  12. ↑ Lefèvre, L.; Marchenko, S. V.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Acker, A. (2009-11-01). "A systematic study of variability among OB-stars based on HIPPARCOS photometry". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 507 (2): 1141–1201. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912304. ISSN   0004-6361.
  13. ↑ Eggleton, P. P.; Tokovinin, A. A. (2008-09-11). "A catalogue of multiplicity among bright stellar systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 389 (2): 869–879. arXiv: 0806.2878 . doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13596.x .
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