Delta Pavonis

Delta Pavonis is a nearby star similar to our Sun, although smaller and dimmer. It is located some 19.9 light years in the constellation of Pavo. The star has an apparent magnitude of 3.56, allowing it to be visible to the unaided eye in dark skies.

Delta Pavonis is a yellow-orange star on the main sequence of spectral type G5-8 V-IV. The star is 1.06 times our Sun's diameter, and is 1.1 times as massive. The star is also some 1.18 times as luminous. As Delta Pavonis is usually bright for its spectral type, it is suspected that the star is beginning to evolve off the main sequence on its way to becoming a subgiant star as it starts to fuse more and more helium at its core.

Based on the abundance of iron measured for Delta Pavonis, the star is estimated to be 95 percent to 2.7 times as enriched as our Sun with elements heavier than hydrogen.

Because Delat Pavonis is relatively close and is similar to our sun, it has garnished high interest as a system where Earth-like planets may exist. The orbital distance such a planet would have liquid water on its surface is centered around 1.09 AU., or a little father then Earth is from our Sun. Astronomers for both NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder and the ESA's Darwin are hoping to find worlds within Delta Pavonis' habitable zone once the missions are launched. SETI has also expressed interest in the star, calling it the "Best SETI target" in a survey of nearby stars. At present, there are no known sub-stellar companions orbiting Delta Pavonis.