Nu Fornacis

Nu Fornacis, Latinized from ν Fornacis, is a single,^[12] variable star in the southern constellation of Fornax. It is blue-white in hue and faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 4.69.^[2] This body is located approximately 370 light years distant from the Sun based on parallax,^[1] and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +18.5 km/s.^[6] It is a candidate member of the Pisces-Eridanus stellar stream, which suggests an age of 120 million years or less.^[13]

A light curve for Nu Fornacis plotted from TESS data^[14]

Nu Fornacis

Location of ν Fornacis (circled in red)
Observation data Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation	Fornax
Right ascension	02h 04m 29.43861s[1]
Declination	−29° 17′ 48.5477″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	4.69[2] (4.68 – 4.73[3])
Characteristics
Spectral type	B9.5IIIspSi[4]
U−B color index	−0.51[2]
B−V color index	−0.17[2]
Variable type	α2 CVn[5]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	+18.50[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: +12.79[7] mas/yr Dec.: +8.48[7] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	8.79±0.26 mas[1]
Distance	370 ± 10 ly (114 ± 3 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	−0.60[8]
Details
Mass	3.65±0.18[9] M☉
Radius	3.44[10] R☉
Luminosity	245[9] L☉
Temperature	13,400[11] K
Rotation	1.89[11] d
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	50±5[11] km/s
Other designations
ν For, CD−29°706, FK5 1055, GC 2506, HD 12767, HIP 9677, HR 612, SAO 167532[7]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

This object is an Ap star^[15] with a stellar classification of B9.5IIIspSi^[4] matching a late B-type giant star. The 'Si' suffix indicates an abundance anomaly of silicon. It is an Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variable that ranges from magnitude 4.68 down to 4.73 with a period of 1.89 days – the same as its rotational period.^[5][11] It is 3.65 times as massive and 245 times as luminous as the Sun,^[9] with 3.44 times the Sun's diameter.^[10]