Praecipua is the brightest star of Leo Minor, an orange star with no Greek letter at all, its Latin name meaning the chief one.
At a glance
| type | orange star (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 94.9 light-years (29.1 pc) |
| its light left it | 94.9 years ago |
| luminosity | 28.4 × the Sun |
| radius | 6.69 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,150 K |
| constellation | Leo Minor (Lesser Lion) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Praecipua
The card describes a star that has grown larger and more luminous than the Sun and cooled at its surface, so it shines orange.
Leo Minor, the Lesser Lion, is a small faint figure squeezed between the Great Bear and Leo. When Greek letters were handed out to its stars, this one, the brightest, was missed, so it is known by its Flamsteed number instead, 46 Leonis Minoris. Praecipua is Latin for chief, or foremost.
What you see in the piece
In the piece it sits at its true distance; the few stars of Leo Minor lie at quite different depths and do not hold together once you leave the Sun.
Questions
What is the brightest star in Leo Minor?
Praecipua, an orange star 94.9 light-years (29.1 pc) away, even though it carries no Greek letter.