Epsilon Columbae
# Epsilon Columbae

Epsilon Columbae, Latinized from ε Columbae, is a star in the southern constellation of Columba. It is visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 3.87. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.46 mas, it is located approximately 262 light years distant from the Sun. The star is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −5 km/s.

This is an orange-hued K-type giant star with a stellar classification of K1 II/III. At the age of 1.5 billion years old, it has exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core then cooled and expanded off the main sequence. Epsilon Columbae has 2.5 times the mass and 25 times the radius of the Sun. The star radiates 251 times the solar luminosity from its enlarged photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,575 K. It has a peculiar velocity of 30.0±3.9 km/s, making it a candidate runaway star system. Based upon changes in the star's movement, it has an orbiting stellar companion of unknown type.

