Properties
Based upon parallax measurements from the astrometric Hipparcos satellite, the distance to this system is about 350 light-years (110 parsecs). The spectrum matches a star with a stellar classification of B1 III, with the luminosity class of III indicating this is a giant star that has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and evolved away from the main sequence. It is a Beta Cephei variable star with a pulsation period of 0.157 days.
In 1935, Joan Voûte identified Beta Centauri as a double star, giving it the identifier VOU 31. The companion is separated from the primary by 1.3 seconds of arc, and has remained so since the discovery, although the position angle has changed slightly. This would indicate that the orbital period is very long, if the pair are actually gravitationally associated.
Based on the variable radial velocity of this star, in 1967 it was suggested that the primary is a double-lined spectroscopic binary. This was confirmed in 1999. The primary consists of a pair of stars with nearly identical mass that orbit each other over a period of 357 days with a large eccentricity of about 0.81. The pair are separated by a mean distance of roughly 4 astronomical units.
Read more about this topic: Beta Centauri
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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