Z Ursae Minoris

Z Ursae Minoris

A visual band light curve for Z Ursae Minoris, plotted from AAVSO data
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Ursa Minor
Right ascension 15h 02m 01.36335s
Declination +83° 03′ 48.6299″
Apparent magnitude (V) 10.8 - 19.0
Characteristics
Spectral type C (R)
Variable type R CrB
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−36.07±0.98 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −7.346 mas/yr
Dec.: +4.322 mas/yr
Parallax (π)0.2159±0.0231 mas
Distanceapprox. 15,000 ly
(approx. 4,600 pc)
Details
Mass0.7±0.2 M
Luminosity7,900+12,000
−4,800
 L
Surface gravity (log g)0.5±0.3 cgs
Temperature5,250±250 K
Metallicity [Fe/H]−1.85 dex
Other designations
Z UMi, TYC 4634-1727-1, 2MASS J15020132+8303485
Database references
SIMBADdata

Z Ursae Minoris (Z UMi) is a carbon star and R Coronae Borealis variable in the constellation Ursa Minor.

Z Ursae Minoris was discovered to be a variable star in 1934. It was catalogued as a probable Mira variable, due to its red colour and variations over several hundred days. It was discovered to be a carbon star in a survey published in 1985, and subsequently found also to be hydrogen-deficient. After fading by almost six magnitudes in 1992, it was classified as an R Coronae Borealis variable. It was confirmed as an R Coronae Borealis variable, one of the coolest in the class, after its spectrum was analysed in 2006.