Astronomy and Space

AB Pictoris

AB Pictoris (abbreviated AB Pic, also catalogued as HD 44627) is a K-type main-sequence star, located 163.5 light-years away in the southern constellation of Pictor. It was initially identified as a member of the young (30 million years old) Tucana–Horologium association, but later shown to be part of the Carina association. The star has been classified as a BY Draconis variable, indicating it has an active chromosphere. It is an X-ray source and displays emission lines in its spectrum. In 2005 it was announced that an astronomical object (AB Pictoris b, abbreviated AB Pic b) had been imaged in 2003 and 2004 close to and apparently in orbit around the star. Its mass suggests that it is at the borderline between being a brown dwarf or a planet.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Kondor (satellite)
• ▸Balgay Park
• ▸Exploration of the Moon

Uncatalogued shelf

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