Surface temperature 35,000 K Radius 9.744 million km (14 R☉) Radial velocity (Rv) 65.40 km/s | Mass 6.166 × 10^31 kg (31 M☉) Surface gravity (log g) 3.5 cgs Rotational velocity (v sin i) 220 km/s | |
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Similar Rho Persei, Eta Persei, Alpha Persei, California Nebula | ||
Xi Persei (ξ Persei, abbreviate Xi Per, ξ Per), also named Menkib, is a star in the constellation of Perseus. It is approximately 1,200 light years from Earth.
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Nomenclature
ξ Persei (Latinised to Xi Persei) is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional name Menkib, Menchib, Menkhib or Al Mankib, from Mankib al Thurayya (Arabic for "shoulder" [of the Pleiades]). In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Menkib for this star on 12 September 2016 and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.
Properties
Xi Persei has an apparent magnitude of +4.06 and is classified as a blue giant (spectral class O7.5III). It is intrinsically 12,700 times brighter than the Sun with absolute magnitude -5.5 in the V band. If the ultraviolet light that emanates from Menkib is included, its total bolometric luminosity is 263,000 times that of the Sun.
The star has a mass of some 30 solar masses and a surface temperature of 35,000 kelvins, making it one of the hottest stars that can be seen with the naked eye. The fluorescence of the California Nebula (NGC 1499) is due to this star’s prodigious radiation.