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56 Leonis

56 Leonis Facts

56 Leonis's Alternative Names

The Id of the star in the Yale Bright Star Catalogue is HR4267. HIP53449 is the reference name for the star in the Hipparcos Star Catalogue. The Id of the star in the Henry Draper catalogue is HD94705.

56 Leonis has alternative name(s) :- VY Leo, VY Leo.

Flamsteed designations are named after the creator, Sir John Flamsteed. Sir John numbered the stars in the constellation with a number and the latin name, this star's Flamsteed designation is 56 Leonis with it shortened to 56 Leo.

The Gould star designation is one that was designed by American astronomer, Benjamin Apthorp Gould. Gould stars are predominantly in the Southern and Equatorial constellations but do appear in northern constellations such as Bootes and Orion. The star has the designation 23 G. Leonis. There are no stars with a Gould designation in Ursa Major for example.



Location of 56 Leonis


Radial Velocity and Proper Motion of 56 Leonis

All stars like planets orbit round a central spot, in the case of planets, its the central star such as the Sun. In the case of a star, its the galactic centre. The constellations that we see today will be different than they were 50,000 years ago or 50,000 years from now. Proper Motion details the movements of these stars and are measured in milliarcseconds. The star is moving -6.42 ± 0.20 miliarcseconds/year towards the north and -23.90 ± 0.37 miliarcseconds/year east if we saw them in the horizon.

The Radial Velocity, that is the speed at which the star is moving away/towards the Sun is -8.39 km/s with an error of about 0.25 km/s . When the value is negative then the star and the Sun are getting closer to one another, likewise, a positive number means that two stars are moving away. Its nothing to fear as the stars are so far apart, they won't collide in our life-time, if ever.

56 Leonis Luminosity

Luminosity is the amount of energy that a star pumps out and its relative to the amount that our star, the Sun gives out. The figure of 97.74 that I have given is based on the value in the Simbad Hipparcos Extended Catalogue at the University of Strasbourg from 2012.

Physical Properties (Colour, Temperature) of 56 Leonis

56 Leonis has a spectral type of M5IIIvar. This means the star is a red giant star. The star is 7,429.00 Parsecs from the Galactic Centre or in terms of Light Years is 24,230.67 s. The star has a B-V Colour Index of 1.25 which means the star's temperature has been calculated using information from Morgans @ Uni.edu at being 4,405 Kelvin.

56 Leonis Radius has been calculated as being 10.50 times bigger than the Sun.The Sun's radius is 695,800km, therefore the star's radius is an estimated 7,302,759.07.km. If you need the diameter of the star, you just need to multiple the radius by 2. However with the 2007 release of updated Hipparcos files, the radius is now calculated at being round 12.56. The figure is derived at by using the formula from SDSS and has been known to produce widely incorrect figures.

56 Leonis Apparent and Absolute Magnitudes


Distance to 56 Leonis

Using the original Hipparcos data that was released in 1997, the parallax to the star was given as 10.03 which gave the calculated distance to 56 Leonis as 325.19 light years away from Earth or 99.70 parsecs. It would take a spaceship travelling at the speed of light, 325.19 years to get there. We don't have the technology or spaceship that can carry people over that distance yet.

In 2007, Hipparcos data was revised with a new parallax of 8.39 which put 56 Leonis at a distance of 388.75 light years or 119.19 parsecs. It should not be taken as though the star is moving closer or further away from us. It is purely that the distance was recalculated.

Using the 2007 distance, the star is roughly 24,584,530.95 Astronomical Units from the Earth/Sun give or take a few. An Astronomical Unit is the distance between Earth and the Sun. The number of A.U. is the number of times that the star is from the Earth compared to the Sun.


Variable Type of 56 Leonis

The star is a pulsating Semi-Regular Star w variable type which means that its size changes over time. The Variable Type is usually named after the first star of that type to be spotted. 56 Leonis brightness ranges from a magnitude of 5.805 to a magnitude of 5.536 over its variable period. The smaller the magnitude, the brighter the star. Its variable/pulsating period lasts for 46.3 days (variability).

Source of Information


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Additional 56 Leonis Facts and Figures

Visual Facts

Primary / Proper / Traditional Name56 Leonis
Alternative NamesVY Leo, HD 94705, HIP 53449, HR 4267, 23 G. Leonis, 56 Leo, BD+06 2369, VY Leo
Spectral TypeM5IIIvar
Constellation's Main StarNo
Multiple Star SystemNo / Unknown
Star TypeGiant Star
GalaxyMilky Way
Absolute Magnitude 0.92 / 0.53
Visual / Apparent Magnitude5.91
Naked Eye VisibleYes - Magnitudes
Right Ascension (R.A.)10h 56m 01.48
Declination (Dec.)+06° 11` 07.4
Galactic Latitude55.50 degrees
Galactic Longitude245.05 degrees
1997 Distance from Earth10.03 Parallax (milliarcseconds)
 325.19 Light Years
 99.70 Parsecs
2007 Distance from Earth8.39 Parallax (milliarcseconds)
 388.75 Light Years
 119.19 Parsecs
 24,584,530.95 Astronomical Units
Galacto-Centric Distance24,230.67 Light Years / 7,429.00 Parsecs
Proper Motion Dec.-6.42 ± 0.20 milliarcseconds/year
Proper Motion RA.-23.90 ± 0.37 milliarcseconds/year
B-V Index1.25
Radial Velocity-8.39 ± 0.25 km/s
Semi-Major Axis8494.00
Stellar Luminosity (Lsun)97.74

Companions (Multi-Star and Exoplanets) Facts

Exoplanet CountNone/Unaware

Variable Star Details

Variable Star ClassPulsating
Variable Star TypeSemi-Regular Star w
Mean Variability Period in Days46.340
Variable Magnitude Range (Brighter - Dimmer)5.536 - 5.805

Estimated Calculated Facts

Radius (x the Sun)12.56
Effective Temperature4,405 Kelvin

Sources and Links

SIMBAD SourceLink

Related Stars

Comments and Questions


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