 | This template employs intricate features of template syntax.
You are encouraged to familiarise yourself with its setup and parser functions before editing the template. If your edit causes unexpected problems, please undo it quickly, as this template may appear on a large number of pages. |
 | This template is currently being developed, and thus it is discouraged from use until its development is complete to a standard satisfactory to the community. If you have any suggestions for changes to this template, discuss them on the talk page. |
{{Infobox star}} is an {{Infobox}}-based template designed to present a summary of important facts about a specified star. It is intended to be used at the top of an article about a star, but may also be used in a section about a star in an article about a broader or loosely related topic, if appropriate. Designed as a replacement for the {{Starbox begin}} series, it features an integrated star map and interchangeable sections that can be activated by simple cell parameters, with support for a summary of double and triple star systems. It is an intricate template that is made up of inputs for 25 parameters, with up to 24 additional parameters for expansion when summarising information about a two or three-star system. A <div> phrase is used to create the frameless location map that appears as the default lead image, and 37 {{#if:}} parser functions are used for the template's interchangeable sections.
 α Centauri AB is the bright star to the left, with Proxima Centauri circled in red. The bright star to the right is β Centauri | |
| Constellation | Centaurus |
|---|---|
| Coordinates |
|
| Distance | 4.37 light years |
| Epoch | J2000.0 |
| Alpha Centauri A | |
| Proper name | Rigil Kentaurus |
| Apparent m | +0.01 |
| Spectral type | G2V |
| Age | ≈4.4 billion years |
| Mass | 1.100 solar masses |
| Radius | 1.2234±0.0053 solar radii |
| Rotation | 22±5.9 days |
| Alpha Centauri B | |
| Proper name | Toliman |
| Apparent m | +1.33 |
| Spectral type | K1V |
| Age | ≈6.5 billion years |
| Mass | 0.907 solar masses |
| Radius | 0.8632±0.0037 solar radii |
| Rotation | 36 days |
| Orbit | |
| Period | 79.91±0.011 years |
| a axis | 17.57±0.022° |
| Eccentricity | 0.5179±0.00076 |
| Inclination | 79.205±0.041° |
Location of PSR B1257+12 in Virgo (circled)
| |
| Proper name | Lich |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Coordinates |
|
| Distance | 2,300 light years |
| Epoch | J2000.0 |
| Characteristics | |
| Age | 1–3 billion years |
| Mass | 1.100 solar masses |
| Radius | 1.2234±0.0053 solar radii |
| Rotation | 6.219 milliseconds |
| Planets |
|
{{Infobox star}}'s syntax features a base of 25 parameters for an article or section describing a single star. An additional 12 parameters can be used to convert the infobox into one that describes a two-star system. It can also be expanded by another 12 parameters to convert the infobox into one that describes a three-star system. These additional parameters are shown below in the example code, separated by line breaks from the base parameters. The examples presented at right show the template as it appears when the base parameters are used for the pulsar PSR B1257+12, and when the first expanded set of 12 parameters are used for the Alpha Centauri system, with Proxima Centauri excluded due to it having its own article. The syntax for this template, in its intended order and spacing, is presented below.
{{Infobox star
| name =
| image =
| caption =
| alt =
| map x =
| map y =
| map circle =
| proper name =
| constellation =
| galaxy =
| ascension =
| declination =
| distance =
| epoch =
| magnitude =
| spectral =
| age =
| mass =
| radius =
| rotation =
| planets =
| period =
| axis =
| eccentricity =
| inclination =
| proper name b =
| magnitude b =
| spectral b =
| age b =
| mass b =
| radius b =
| rotation b =
| planets b =
| period b =
| axis b =
| eccentricity b =
| inclination b =
| proper name c =
| magnitude c =
| spectral c =
| age c =
| mass c =
| radius c =
| rotation c =
| planets c =
| period c =
| axis c =
| eccentricity c =
| inclination c =
}}
|constellation=toAquarius produces a map of the constellation Aquarius as the lead image when |image= is not active.
The |name= parameter sets the name of the template, displayed in large, bold font at its heading. {{Infobox star}} features a location map as a default lead image if |image= is not active. It uses an English-language map of a constellation specified in |constellation=, created by Torsten Bronger. For example, a map of Orion will be displayed if the parameter is set to |constellation=Orion. This is achieved by fixing the infobox image to File:{{{constellation|}}} constellation map.svg, taking advantage of the maps' harmonised filenames under Wikimedia Commons guidelines. The minimalist design of these vector maps are preferred over the maps published by the International Astronomical Unionasthey are hard to read at a thumbnail level. A <div> phrase is used to create the location map instead of {{Location map+}}, as the template, along with its variants, do not have support for frameless thumbnails, which allow users to display thumbnail sizes according to their preferences as advised by the Manual of Style. The Location map templates are by default fixed to 250px width, and any attempt to set it to a frameless width will result in a Lua error. A caption for the map is also fixed and the corresponding |caption= parameter disabled if |image= is not active. Its syntax is written as "Location of {{{name|}}} in {{{constellation|}}} (circled)". Coordinates for the location map's circle will have to be inputted as well, through |map x= and |map y=. The circle used for the location map, File:Red circle.svg, is set to a width of 12px as default. This can be changed through a |map circle= parameter, where its width in pixels, excluding the "px" affix, can be inputted.
When an input for |image= is detected, the location map is disabled entirely, through the use of an {{#if:}} parser function. In this instance, |image= is used to input the filename of an image to be displayed as the lead image, excluding its "File:" prefix. Per the Manual of Style's image size guidelines, the width of the image is fixed to frameless, to ensure that users' preferences for thumbnail sizes are respected. Both |caption= and |alt= are also made active when |image= is, with |caption= intended to be used to input an appropriate descriptive caption for the image displayed in |image=, and |alt= intended to be used to input an alt caption for the same image. The use of {{Longitem}} is highly encouraged if the caption is larger than a single line.
| Cell | Parameter | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | A summary of the basic information about the star or star system, comprising its name, location, and distance. The "Summary" header name does not appear in the infobox at all, as its inclusion would unnecessarily take up space in the infobox; it is presumed that casual readers would understand that this section is a basic summary even in the header's absence. | |
| Proper name | proper name
|
The proper name for the star, as defined by the International Astronomical Union and its Working Group on Star Names, if not already defined in the article title; the star's proper name might not be the article title because of common name guidelines. A primary source for proper names of stars can be found at the Working Group's catalogue of star names. When |proper name b= and/or |proper name c= is active, the position of this cell is moved down to the "Characteristics" section of the A star in the system, and described the proper name of the A star. This is achieved with multiple {{#if:}} parser functions.
|
| Constellation | constellation
|
The name of the constellation in which the star is located. The input for this parameter is directly tied to a wikilink, with the related syntax being "[[{{{constellation|}}} (constellation)|{{{constellation|}}}]]", so only a bare input of the constellation's name is required, with no wikilink tags. This is also important as |constellation= also inputs the name of the constellation into the lead image and its caption when |image= is not active, as described in the "Header and image" section above.
|
| Galaxy | galaxy
|
The name of the galaxy in which the star is located, if not the Milky Way. |
| Coordinates | ascension, declination
|
The right ascension and declination of a star in the night sky. The use of {{RA}} and {{DEC}} for each parameter is highly encouraged. The two parts of the celestial coordinate system are merged into one cell as this arrangement takes up less space in the infobox than having them as separate cells. The coordinates are separated on two lines using {{Unbulleted list}}, per the Manual of style guidelines on text formatting. |
| Distance | distance
|
The distance of the star from the Earth and the Sun. Use the units of light-years, parsecs, or megaparsecs in their full spelling, when appropriate. For example, it would be appropriate to write the distance of the star in parsecs if it is located beyond the Milky Way. |
| Epoch | epoch
|
The epoch in which certain time-sensitive information presented in the article would be, or was, true. J2000 is the most common reference point for astronomers. |
| Characteristics | A summary of the physical characteristics of the star. This header appears when any |b= and |c= parameters are not active. When any of those parameters are made active, the heading is converted into a heading bearing the Bayer designation name of the star being described in the section, which would be A, B, or C. This is achieved through the use of multiple {{#if:}} parser functions.
| |
| Apparent m | magnitude
|
The apparent magnitude of the star as it appears from Earth in visible wavelengths. Use + and - symbols to denote a positive or negative m. The cell label is truncated to "Apparent m" so that the label column in the infobox is thin as possible as to allow the cell column to fit a reasonable amount of detail on a single line. |
| Spectral type | spectral
|
The star's spectral classification. A wikilink to the classification's proper name is highly encouraged. For example, "DA2" should wikilink to White dwarf. |
| Age | age
|
The star's age in units of either millions of years or billions of years. If the star's age is greater than 1 billion years, use "n billion years", and if it is less, use "n million years" |
| Mass | mass
|
The mass of the star in units of solar masses. Be sure to wikilink the units used, as [[solar mass]]es.
|
| Radius | radius
|
The radius of the star in units of solar radii. Be sure to wikilink the units used, as [[solar radii]].
|
| Rotation | rotation
|
The time it takes for a star to rotate once on its axis. Use either units of milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, days, or years where appropriate. For example, it would be inappropriate to write the rotation period of a pulsar as "0.000046296 days" if it can be more easily written and understood as "4 seconds". |
| Planets | planets
|
The proper names of planets orbiting the star in order of closest to farthest periapsis, presented in a {{Hlist}} format with wikilinks, if articles for the planets exist on Wikipedia. If no proper names exist, use their Bayer designation names, "a, b, c, etc." |
| Orbit | A summary of the main four orbital parameters of the star – time, distance, shape, and tilt. This header always appears despite any segregation of the infobox into details about separate stars, distinguishing these four cells from the "Characteristics" cells for each star. | |
| Period | period
|
The time it takes for a star to complete one orbit around its parent star. Use either units of minutes, hours, days, months, or years where appropriate. For example, it would be inapproporiate to write the orbital period of a star as "0.0273973 years" if it can be more easily written and understood as "10 days". |
| a axis | axis
|
The distance of the star's Semi-major axis from its parent star. Use astronomical units, with the unit written as "AU" to aid in keeping the cell as short as possible. The cell's header has been truncated to "a axis", as a is often used to describe the semi-major axis in orbital equations. For similar reasons to the truncation of the "Apparent m" cell header, this is to ensure that the label column in the infobox is thin as possible as to allow the cell column to fit a reasonable amount of detail on a single line. |
| Eccentricity | eccentricity
|
The value that determines the shape of the orbit in orbital equations. A value of 0 is a circular orbit, values between 0 and 1 form an elliptic orbit, 1 is a parabolic escape orbit, and greater than 1 is a hyperbola. |
| Inclination | inclination
|
The tilt of a star's orbit from the axis of rotation of its parent star. This value is measured in degrees, and should be denoted with a degree symbol (°). |
| Sirius A | |
|---|---|
| Spectral type | A0mA1 Va |
| Sirius B | |
| Spectral type | DA2 |
For articles or sections describing a star system, it would be appropriate to expand {{Infobox star}} with a suite of parameters that add support for information on two-star and three-star systems. This is possible by simply adding a "b" or "c" to the end of parameter names under "Characteristics" and "Orbit", such as |radius b=or|eccentricity c=. "b" parameters help describe a secondary star in the system, while "c" parameters help describe a tertiary star in the system. Additionally, the |proper name= parameter can be expanded with "b" and "c" names as well. When any "b" or "c" cell is active, the infobox design is rearranged from a structure describing a single star to that describing a star system. The "Characteristics" headings become title headers with the Bayer designation for the stars displayed; the "Orbit" headers remain consistent, however. When any particular "b" or "c" cell is active, {{#if:}} parsers check to see if a wikilink to that cell's label already exists in the infobox. If it does, the wikilink is removed, and if there is not, a wikilink is placed onto the label. An example on the right shows how the wikilink for |spectral b='s label is removed if one already exists for |spectral='s label. This is to comply with the Manual of Style's guidelines on overlinking.
{{Infobox star}} was designed to be a replacement for the "Starbox" series of templates that were primarily used as summary boxes prior to the standardisation of {{Infobox}}es. They were used from 2005 to 2019. The series was made up of 15 separate templates, of which their purpose has now been succeeded by {{Infobox star}}. The "Starbox" series as a whole featured many more cells than {{Infobox star}}, and often went into detail that exceeded the purpose of an infobox as a summary (and not supplant) of key facts that appear in an article. This inspired and informed the selection of {{Infobox star}}'s limited amount of parameters and cells, in order to resolve this issue. The 15 templates of the "Starbox" series are presented below.
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