Gamma Ceti

Proper names: Gamma Ceti, 86 Ceti
Catalog numbers:
Gliese (Gl) 106.1, Henry Draper (HD) 16970, Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) +2°422, Hipparcos Input Catalog (HIC) 12706, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) 110707, Aitken Double Star (ADS) 2080, Hoffleit Bright Star (HR) 804, Woolley (Wo) 9098
Arity: trinary
Right Ascension and Declination: 2h43m18.044s, +3°14'8.6" (epoch 2000.0)
Distance from Sol: 82.0 light-years (25.1 parsecs)
Standard error in distance: 2.3324%
Source for distance: Hipparcos
Celestial (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: 61.9, 53.5, 4.63
Galactic (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: -53.1, 9.86, -61.7
Proper motion: 0.207 arcsec/yr (224.5° from north)
Radial Velocity: -5.1 km/sec
Source for proper motion and radial velocity: Gliese
Galactic (U,V,W) velocity components in km/s: 21.8, -2.15, -12.4

What do all these fields mean?

Data for A and B's orbit around one other:
Combined absolute visual magnitude: +1.47
Combined visual luminosity: 22.4 x Sol
Observed Separation: 70.4 A.U.s
As seen from A:
B would appear as magnitude -18.04
As seen from B:
A would appear as magnitude -20.78

Data for C and 's orbit around one other:
Combined absolute visual magnitude: +8.16
Combined visual luminosity: 0.047 x Sol
Observed Separation: 21116 A.U.s
As seen from :
C would appear as magnitude -1.79

Component A:
Spectral class: A3
Luminosity Class: V
Apparent visual magnitude: +3.56
Absolute visual magnitude: +1.56
Visual luminosity: 20.7 x Sol
Diameter: 3.24 x Sol
Source for diameter: Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (Fracassini+ 1988)
Comfort Zone (visual): 4.55 A.U.s
Angular size of star in sky in CZ: 0.379553 degrees

Component B:
Proper motion: 0.207 arcsec/yr (224.5° from north)
Radial Velocity: -12.5 km/sec
Source for proper motion and radial velocity: Gliese
Galactic (U,V,W) velocity components in km/s: 26.6, -3.04, -6.79
Spectral class: F3
Luminosity Class: V
Apparent visual magnitude: +6.30
Absolute visual magnitude: +4.30
Visual luminosity: 1.66 x Sol
Diameter: 1 x Sol
Source for diameter: Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (Fracassini+ 1988)
Comfort Zone (visual): 1.29 A.U.s
Angular size of star in sky in CZ: 0.413501 degrees

Component C:
Catalog numbers:
Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) +2°418, Vyssotsky McCormick (McC) 399, Luyten Two-Tenth (LTT) 10888
Right Ascension and Declination: 2h39m54s, +3°9'54" (epoch 1950.0)
Celestial (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: 62.7, 52.6, 4.53
Galactic (X,Y,Z) coordinates in ly: -52.3, 10.6, -62.3
Proper motion: 0.215 arcsec/yr (220.0° from north)
Radial Velocity: -5.1 km/sec
Source for proper motion and radial velocity: Gliese
Galactic (U,V,W) velocity components in km/s: 22.4, -4.26, -12.8
Spectral class: K5
Luminosity Class: V
Apparent visual magnitude: +10.16
Absolute visual magnitude: +8.16
Visual luminosity: 0.047 x Sol
Color indices: B-V= +1.36, U-B= +1.28, R-I= +0.57
Comfort Zone (visual): 0.22 A.U.s

Data for this star system were most recently updated on 4-April-2001.