11 Leonis Minoris
Encyclopedia
11 Leonis Minoris (11 LMi) is a star system
37 light years away from Earth
, in the constellation Leo Minor
. The primary star is a yellow dwarf
(main sequence) star of spectral type
G8V, which is slightly more massive but slightly dimmer than our sun. The primary is an RS Canum Venaticorum type
variable star
and its brightness varies by 0.04 magnitudes.
There is also a secondary star, a red dwarf star much dimmer than the primary. It orbits in a highly eccentric orbit ranging from roughly 4 AU to 63 AU from the primary.
Star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars which orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large number of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a star cluster or galaxy, although, broadly speaking, they are also star systems.-Binary star systems:A stellar...
37 light years away from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, in the constellation Leo Minor
Leo Minor
Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation. Its name means "the smaller lion", in contrast to Leo, the larger lion. Its brightest stars form a rough triangle, and it lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major and Leo...
. The primary star is a yellow dwarf
Main sequence
The main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell...
(main sequence) star of spectral type
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
G8V, which is slightly more massive but slightly dimmer than our sun. The primary is an RS Canum Venaticorum type
RS Canum Venaticorum variable
RS Canum Venaticorum variables are a type of variable star. They are close binary stars having active chromospheres which can cause large stellar spots. These spots are believed to cause variations in their observed luminosity...
variable star
Variable star
A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth...
and its brightness varies by 0.04 magnitudes.
There is also a secondary star, a red dwarf star much dimmer than the primary. It orbits in a highly eccentric orbit ranging from roughly 4 AU to 63 AU from the primary.