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Xi Octantis
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<p>Xi Octantis, <a href="/facts/Romanization_of_Greek/KTELT9Aq">Latinized</a> from ξ Octantis, is a solitary variable <a href="/facts/Star/PFbd6ICx">star</a> in the southern <a href="/facts/Circumpolar_constellation/6WNxzu8u">circumpolar constellation</a> <a href="/facts/Octans/pew4vkNe">Octans</a>. It has an <a href="/facts/Apparent_magnitude/7pCTF1Me">apparent magnitude</a> of about 5.3, allowing it to be faintly seen with the <a href="/facts/Naked_eye/ePEIa0lK">naked eye</a>; however, this varies slightly. Located 514 <a href="/facts/Light_year/IGc5NdQb">light years</a> away, the object is receding with a heliocentric <a href="/facts/Radial_velocity/B3NmbVLP">radial velocity</a> of 22 <a href="/facts/Metre_per_second/hSEkho3J">km/s</a>. </p> <p>Xi Octantis has a <a href="/facts/Stellar_classification/dYrIuK9H">stellar classification</a> of B6 V, indicating that it is an ordinary <a href="/facts/B-type_main-sequence_star/CKlAwIES">B-type main-sequence star</a>. Hintler et al. gives it a <a href="/facts/Luminosity_class/dYrIuK9H">luminosity class</a> IV (<a href="/facts/Subgiant/wD7o7E2Q">subgiant</a>) while Houk and Cowley gives a classification intermediate between a B5 and B7 dwarf. Nevertheless, it has 4 times the <a href="/facts/Mass_of_the_Sun/j6Auhku8">mass of the Sun</a> and is 3 times larger. It shines with a <a href="/facts/Luminosity/1tdhpk9l">luminosity</a> of 360 <a href="/facts/Solar_luminosity/CLG0r9bP"><i>L</i>☉</a> from its <a href="/facts/Photosphere/32a139LB">photosphere</a> at an <a href="/facts/Effective_temperature/RY30DaSY">effective temperature</a> of 14,050 <a href="/facts/Kelvin/E3trzC4C">K</a>, giving it a whitish blue glow. Xi Octantis is 46 <a href="/facts/Million_years/DXcnXuAw">million years</a> old – 64.8% through its short <a href="/facts/Main_sequence/DJ3Wq8kd">main sequence</a> lifetime – and spins modestly with a <a href="/facts/Projected_rotational_velocity/N0VzIXLC">projected rotational velocity</a> of 30 <a href="/facts/Metre_per_second/hSEkho3J">km/s</a>. </p><p>When the <a href="/facts/Hipparcos/Th2HW7VN">Hipparcos</a> catalogue was released in 1997, Xi Octantis was found to vary in magnitude — ranging from 5.32 to 5.36 based on data from the International Variable Star Index. It has since been classified as a <a href="/facts/Slowly_pulsating_B-type_star/XgJNLE9R">Slowly pulsating B-dwarf</a> with a period of 1.78 <a href="/facts/Days/MTAtWLDj">days</a>. </p>