Talk:Arcturus
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[edit] 3rd Brightest?
Is it worth pointing out that Arcturus appears to the naked eye as only the 4th brightest star in the night sky, rather than the 3rd (as mentioned in the article)?
Alpha Centauri A and B are too close to each other for the naked eye to resolve them as separate stars, even when they are furthest from each other in their orbits, and the human eye percieves them as a single star, with an apparent magnitude of around -0.27, 0.23 magnitudes brighter than Arcturus (nearly 25% brighter). Richard B 14:35, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
- Right, I've edited it in. Richard B 02:37, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Temperature of Arcturus
Changed the temperature on the box on the right to 4,300K based on a recent scientific paper.
This also fits with the other data such as radius and total-power output reported in the article.
[edit] Proper motion
- It is now at its closest point to the Sun…
That doesn't agree with a radial velocity of −5.3 km/s. Based on numbers from the Starbox, I calculate closest approach in about 4000 years (assuming zero acceleration). That may qualify as now on the timescale of stellar motion, but some readers may not derive their sense of nowishness from astronomy. Those who don't plan to stick around until then, for example.
- …and is moving rapidly relative to the solar system.
At a true velocity of 122 km/s, actually, so I added that to the article.
—Herbee 16:42, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
