Alpha Corvi


Alpha Corvi, also named Alchiba, is an F-type main-sequence star and the fifth-brightest star in the constellation of Corvus. Based on parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 49 light-years from the Sun.

Nomenclature

α Corvi is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional names Al Chiba and Al Minliar al Ghurab or Minkar al Ghurab. The latter appeared in the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, which was translated into Latin as Rostrum Corvi. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Alchiba for this star on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.
In Chinese astronomy, Alchiba is called 右轄, Pinyin: Yòuxiá, meaning Right Linchpin, because it stands alone in the Right Linchpin asterism, Chariot mansion, 右轄, westernized into Yew Hea by R.H. Allen.

Namesake

is a former United States Navy ship.

Properties

Alchiba belongs to the spectral class F1V and has apparent magnitude +4.00. This star exhibits periodic changes in its spectrum over a three-day period, which suggests it is either a spectroscopic binary or a pulsating Gamma Doradus-type variable.