Ain is an orange giant in the Hyades, the cluster that forms the face of Taurus, and the first star in an open cluster found to have a planet.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 147 light-years (45 pc) |
| its light left it | 147 years ago |
| luminosity | 86.2 × the Sun |
| radius | 11.7 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,150 K |
| constellation | Taurus (Bull) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Ain
Ain is a star that has used up the hydrogen in its core and swollen into a giant, cooler and redder at the surface than the Sun but far larger and brighter. It belongs to the Hyades, a loose family of stars born together, and sits at the tip of the northern arm of the V that draws the Bull’s face.
The name is Arabic for the eye: Ain is one of the Bull’s eyes, the other traditionally given to Aldebaran. A giant planet was found circling it by the slow wobble it imposes on the star’s light, the first planet discovered around a member of an open cluster.
What you see in the piece
In the sky Ain and Aldebaran look like a matched pair of orange eyes, but only Ain belongs to the Hyades; fly out and Aldebaran slides away, much closer to the Sun than the cluster it seems to sit in.
Questions
What does the star name Ain mean?
Ain is Arabic for the eye; it marks one of the eyes of Taurus, the Bull.
How far away is Ain?
Ain is 147 light-years (45 pc) from the Sun, inside the Hyades cluster.