42 Camelopardalis

42 Camelopardalis
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Camelopardalis
Right ascension 06h 50m 57.08877s
Declination +67° 34 18.9814
Apparent magnitude (V) 5.14
Characteristics
Spectral type B4 IV or B5 V
B−V color index −0.152±0.002
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)3.2±1.2 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: +0.55 mas/yr
Dec.: +5.02 mas/yr
Parallax (π)4.2456±0.2405 mas
Distance770 ± 40 ly
(240 ± 10 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−2.10
Details
Mass6.5±0.2 M
Radius5.6 R
Luminosity (bolometric)2,460 L
Temperature16,550 K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)105 km/s
Age50.1±11.7 Myr
Other designations
42 Cam, BD+67°454, FK5 2523, GC 8902, HD 48879, HIP 32864, HR 2490, SAO 13973
Database references
SIMBADdata

42 Camelopardalis is a single star in the constellation Camelopardalis, located roughly 770 light years away from the Sun. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, blue-white hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.14. The visual magnitude of the star is diminished by an extinction of 0.22 due to interstellar dust. It is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of 3 km/s. 42 Camelopardalis has a peculiar velocity of 24.4+1.9
−2.1
 km/s
and may be a runaway star.

Observations made in 1933 appeared to suggest this could be a Beta Cephei variable, but this was not confirmed by follow-up measurements. The star has a stellar classification of B4 IV, matching a B-type subgiant star. It has 6.5 times the mass of the Sun and about 5.6 times the Sun's radius. 42 Camelopardalis is 50 million years old with a high rotation rate, showing a projected rotational velocity of 105 km/s. It is radiating 2,460 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 16,550 K. This star is notable as demonstrating similarities between the short-period B-type variables and the Cepheid variables.