Facts about Alkes
- 12
Alkes completes one full rotation in approximately 100 days based on its measured rotational velocity of 3.5 kilometers per second across its 11 solar radii surface.
- 11
An unseen companion orbits Alkes in a binary system, detected through gravitational effects rather than direct observation despite sharing the same stellar neighborhood.
- 10
Alkes orbits within a binary system, though its companion star remains too faint to observe directly from Earth despite both stars sharing the same space.
- 09
Alkes' designation as Alpha Crateris makes it the brightest star in the constellation Crater despite being relatively modest in absolute terms among giant stars.
- 08
The star's luminosity reaches approximately 48 times that of the Sun, making Alkes a notably bright K-giant visible to the naked eye despite its distance.
- 07
In approximately 5 billion years, Alkes will likely shed its outer layers and evolve into a white dwarf, the final stage of its stellar life cycle.
- 06
Roughly 11 times larger than the Sun, Alkes has expanded to a radius of approximately 11 solar radii during its giant star phase.
- 05
Spectral analysis reveals that Alkes possesses a metallicity of approximately -0.15 dex, indicating it contains slightly fewer heavy elements than our Sun.
- 04
Alkes rotates with a projected rotational velocity of approximately 3.5 kilometers per second, indicating a relatively slow spin compared to many younger stars.
- 03
Approximately 1.16 solar masses comprise Alkes, making it slightly more massive than our Sun despite its evolved giant star status.
- 02
With a surface temperature of approximately 4,900 Kelvin, Alkes is classified as an orange K-type giant star in its evolutionary stage.
- 01
Located in the constellation Crater, Alkes shines at magnitude 4.07 and sits approximately 49 light-years from Earth.