The primary, designated component A,[3] is an aginggiant star with astellar classification of G8III.[6] It is 302 million years old with 3.3 times themass of the Sun.[8] With the supply of hydrogen at itscore exhausted, the star has now expanded to 17 times theSun's radius. It is ared clump giant on thehorizontal branch, which indicates it is generating energy through the fusion of helium at its core.[5] The star is radiating 140 times theluminosity of the Sun from its swollenphotosphere at aneffective temperature of5,087 K. Its faint secondary companion, component B, is of an unknown spectral type. It has a temperature similar to the primary, but a luminosity much lower than the Sun's.
This star was part of the now-obsolete constellationRangifer, the reindeer, which was also called Tarandus. Both words meanreindeer in Latin, and they form the reindeer's scientific name,Rangifer tarandus. TheIAU Working Group on Star Names approved the name Rangifer for this star on 25 December 2025, and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.2 Ursae Minoris was namedTarandus.[13]
^abQueiroz, A. B. A.; Anders, F.; Chiappini, C.; Khalatyan, A.; Santiago, B. X.; Steinmetz, M.; Valentini, M.; Miglio, A.; Bossini, D.; Barbuy, B.; Minchev, I.; Minniti, D.; García Hernández, D. A.; Schultheis, M.; Beaton, R. L.; Beers, T. C.; Bizyaev, D.; Brownstein, J. R.; Cunha, K.; Fernández-Trincado, J. G.; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Lane, R. R.; Majewski, S. R.; Nataf, D.; Nitschelm, C.; Pan, K.; Roman-Lopes, A.; Sobeck, J. S.; Stringfellow, G.; Zamora, O. (2020), "From the bulge to the outer disc: StarHorse stellar parameters, distances, and extinctions for stars in APOGEE DR16 and other spectroscopic surveys",Astronomy and Astrophysics,638: A76,arXiv:1912.09778,Bibcode:2020A&A...638A..76Q,doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201937364,S2CID209439697.
^Glebocki, R.; Gnacinski, P. (2005), "VizieR Online Data Catalog: Catalog of Stellar Rotational Velocities (Glebocki+ 2005)",VizieR On-line Data Catalog: III/244. Originally Published in: 2005csss...13..571G; 2005yCat.3244....0G,3244,Bibcode:2005yCat.3244....0G.
