A visual band light curve for X Trianguli Australis, plotted from data published by Tabur et al. (2009) [1]  | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000  | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Triangulum Australe | 
| Right ascension | 15h 14m 19.17550s [2] | 
| Declination | −70° 04′ 46.1133″ [2] | 
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +5.75 [3] | 
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | C5.5 [4] | 
| B−V color index | 3.271±0.019 [3] | 
| Variable type | Lb [5] | 
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | −3.2±1.5 [6] km/s | 
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +3.932 mas/yr  [2]  Dec.: −8.402 mas/yr [2]  | 
| Parallax (π) | 2.8588±0.1525 mas [2] | 
| Distance | 1,140 ± 60  ly  (350 ± 20 pc)  | 
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −1.97 [3] | 
| Details [7] | |
| Mass | 1.5 or 2 M☉ | 
| Radius | 535 [a] R☉ | 
| Luminosity (bolometric) | 12,815 L☉ | 
| Surface gravity (log g) | −0.79 or −0.51 cgs | 
| Temperature | 2,650 K | 
| Other designations | |
| X TrA, AAVSO 1504-69, CPD−69°2267, HD 134453, HIP 74582, HR 5644, SAO 253062 [8] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data | 
X Trianguli Australis is a star in the southern constellation Triangulum Australe. It is a red-hued carbon star approximately 1,140 light years (350 parsecs) from Earth. [2] It is a semi-regular variable star with two periods of around 385 and 455 days, and is of spectral type C5.5(Nb). [1] It ranges from magnitude 5.03 to 6.05, making it faintly visible to the naked eye under excellent observing conditions. [9] The discovery by Louisa Dennison Wells that the star is a variable star, was announced in 1898. [10] Its designation is from the variable star designation developed by German astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander.
It is a cool star, with of a surface effective temperature of 2,650 K (2,380 °C), yet luminous, emitting 13,000 times the luminosity of the Sun. Its angular diameter was measured at 13.82×10−3 arcseconds , which at its distance give a diameter 540 times that of the Sun. [7] [a] If placed at the center of the Solar System, it would stretch out farther than Mars' orbit. Its absolute magnitude is −1.97. [3]