Epsilon Pegasi (Latinised from ε Pegasi, abbreviated Epsilon Peg, ε Peg), formally named Enif , is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Pegasus.
With an average apparent visual magnitude of 2.4, this is a second-magnitude star that is readily visible to the naked eye.
The distance to this star can be estimated using parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, yielding a value of around .
Nomenclature
ε Pegasi (Latinised to Epsilon Pegasi) is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional name Enif derived from the Arabic word for 'nose', due to its position as the muzzle of Pegasus.
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars.
The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Enif for this star.
Other traditional names for the star include Fom al Feras, Latinised to Os Equi.
In Chinese,  (), meaning Rooftop (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of Epsilon Pegasi, Alpha Aquarii and Theta Pegasi. 中國星座神話
, written by 陳久金.
Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, .
Consequently, the Chinese name for Epsilon Pegasi itself is  (, .) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表 , Hong Kong Space Museum.
Accessed on line November 23, 2010.
Physical characteristics
Epsilon Pegasi is a red supergiant star, as indicated by the stellar classification of K2 Ib.
It is estimated to be 12 times the Sun's mass.
The measured angular diameter of this star, after correction for limb darkening, is .
At the estimated distance of this star, this yields an enormous physical size of about 185 times the radius of the Sun.
From this expanded envelope, it is radiating roughly 12,250 times the luminosity of the Sun at an effective temperature of 4,337 K.
This temperature is cooler than the Sun, giving it the orange-hued glow of a K-type star.
Epsilon Pegasi has been observed to brighten radically upon a few occasions, giving rise to the theory that it (and possibly other supergiants) erupt in massive flares that dwarf those of the Sun.
It is a type LC slow irregular variable star that varies from +0.7 to +3.5 in magnitude.
The spectrum shows an overabundance of the elements strontium and barium, which may be the result of the s-process of nucleosynthesis in the outer atmosphere of the star.
It has a relatively high peculiar velocity of .
Evolution
Epsilon Pegasi has exhausted its core hydrogen and expanded away from the main sequence.
It is almost certainly on the horizontal branch fusing helium in its core.
It is sufficiently massive that it may die in a core-collapse supernova, or it may shed its outer layers and leave behind an unusual oxygen–neon white dwarf.
Pulfrich effect
Epsilon Pegasi is a fine example to observe the Pulfrich effect.
This optical phenomenon is described on page 1372 of Burnham's Celestial Handbook.
According to John Herschel: The apparent pendulum-like oscillation of a small star in the same vertical as the large one, when the telescope is swung from side to side.
See also
List of brightest stars
List of nearest bright stars
Lists of stars
Historical brightest stars
References
Pegasi, Epsilon Pegasi, 08 Category:K-type supergiants Category:Pegasus (constellation) Enif Category:Slow irregular variables 8308 206778 107315 BD+09 4891
