Asellus Borealis, the northern donkey colt, is a white star in Cancer that sits beside the Beehive cluster, one of a pair of donkeys feeding at the manger.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 181 light-years (55.6 pc) |
| its light left it | 181 years ago |
| luminosity | 44.1 × the Sun |
| radius | 2.56 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 9,300 K |
| constellation | Cancer (Crab) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Asellus Borealis
The facts describe a hot white star, larger and brighter than the Sun, still burning hydrogen in its core or close to the end of that stage.
Its Latin name means the northern little ass. With Asellus Australis it flanks the Beehive, M44, the open cluster that ancient astronomers called Praesepe, the manger, so the two stars became the donkeys eating from it. The cluster itself lies much further away than either star.
What you see in the piece
From the Earth the two donkeys bracket the Beehive. In the piece you can fly past them and see that they and the cluster sit at very different distances.
Questions
Why is it called the northern donkey?
Asellus means little donkey in Latin. It and Asellus Australis sit either side of the Beehive cluster, the manger, as if feeding from it.