46 Cancri is a star in the zodiac constellationofCancer, located around 680 light years away from the Sun. It is a dim, yellow-hued star, near the lower limits of visibility to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 6.12.[2] The star is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of –13.1 km/s.[2] It has a stellar classification of G5 III,[3] matching an aging giant star that has consumed the hydrogen at its core and evolved away from the main sequence.
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cancer |
| Right ascension | 08h45m 21.42336s[1] |
| Declination | +30° 41′ 51.9066″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.122[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | G5 III[3] |
| B−V color index | 0.912[2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | –13.1[2] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −9.828[1] mas/yr Dec.: +0.916[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 4.7700 ± 0.1025 mas[1] |
| Distance | 680 ± 10 ly (210 ± 5 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 0.297[4] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 2.65[2] M☉ |
| Radius | 11[5] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 125.9[2] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 2.80[4] cgs |
| Temperature | 4,966±74[2] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.08[4] dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 6.6[6] km/s |
| Age | 740[2] Myr |
| Other designations | |
46 Cnc, BD+31°1876, FK5 2690, HD 74485, HIP 42954, HR 3464, SAO 61029[7] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
46 Cancri is 740 million years old with 2.65[2] times the mass of the Sun. It has expanded to about 11[5] times the Sun's radius and is radiating 125.9[2] times the Sun's luminosity from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,966 K.[2]