Beta Mensae,Latinized from β Mensae, is the third-brighteststar in theconstellation ofMensa. Despite this, it is only faintly visible to the naked eye, appearing as a dim, yellow-hued point of light with anapparent visual magnitude of 5.31.[2] The star is positioned near the southwest edge of theLarge Magellanic Cloud, but it does not form part of this much more distantsatellite galaxy. Based upon an annualparallax shift of just 4.11 mas as seen from the Earth,[8] the star is located at a distance of roughly 790 light years from theSun. It is moving closer with a heliocentricradial velocity of −11 km/s.[4]
^abcdJohnson, H. L.; et al. (1966), "UBVRIJKL photometry of the bright stars",Communications of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory,4 (99): 99,Bibcode:1966CoLPL...4...99J.
^abHouk, Nancy; Cowley, A. P. (1979),Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD stars, vol. 1, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Dept. of Astronomy, University of Michigan,Bibcode:1978mcts.book.....H.
