It bore the traditional name of Scheat, a name that had also been used for Delta Aquarii. The name was derived from the ArabicAl Sā'id "the upper arm", or from Sa'd.[14] In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organised a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[15] to catalog and standardise proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016[16] included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Scheat for this star (the name Skat was later approved for Delta Aquarii[13]).
In Chinese, 室宿 (Shì Xiù), meaning Encampment, refers to an asterism consisting β Pegasi and α Pegasi.[17] Consequently, the Chinese name for β Pegasi itself is 室宿二 (Shì Xiù èr), "the Second Star of Encampment".[18]
Distance and properties
Based upon parallax measurements, Beta Pegasi is located about 196 light-years (60 parsecs) from the Sun.[1] It is unusual among bright stars in having a relatively cool surface temperature compared to stars like the Sun.
This star has a stellar classification of M2.3 II–III,[4] which indicates the spectrum has characteristics partway between a bright giant and a giant star. It has expanded until it is 109 times as large,[9] and has a total luminosity of 1,640 times that of the Sun.[8] The effective temperature of the star's outer envelope is about 3,600 K,[8] giving the star the characteristic orange-red hue of an M-type star.[20] The photosphere is sufficiently cool for molecules of titanium oxide to form.[21]
^ abcJohnson, 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.
^Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub. ISBN978-1-931559-44-7.
^Gavin, M. (February 1996), "Stellar spectroscopy with CCDs - some preliminary results", Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 106 (1): 11–15, Bibcode:1996JBAA..106...11G