Constellation Carina | ||
Similar S Persei, RW Cephei, KW Sagittarii, VX Sagittarii | ||
CK Carinae (CK Car / HD 90382 / SAO 238038) is a variable star in the constellation Carina, the keel of the Argo Navis. Apparent average magnitude +7.59, is a member of the Association star Carina OB1-D, so it can estimate the distance in about 2,200 parsecs or 7,100 light-years.
CK Carinae is a red supergiant of spectral type M3.5Iab with an effective temperature of 3,550 K. It is a star of enormous size, with a radius over 1,000 times bigger than the sun. Its radius is equal to 4.9 AU, which means that if he were in the place of the Sun, its surface would reach almost to the orbit of Jupiter, Earth being encompassed within the star. However, it is surpassed in size by other stars like VY Canis Majoris, μ Cephei or VV Cephei, considered one of biggest stars knowns. Consequently, CK Carinae is also a bright star, being its luminosity 170,000 times that of Sun.
Billed as a semiregular variable star SRC, CK Carinae's brightness varies magnitude between +7.2 - +8.5 with a period of approximately 525 days.