The system had a traditional name Markab,[13] from the Arabic مركب, markab meaning "something to ride".[14] It was often spelled Markeb[15] to distinguish it from similarly named stars such as Alpha Pegasi. In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[16] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Markeb for Kappa Velorum on 5 September 2017. Markab had previously been approved for Alpha Pegasi on 30 June 2016. Both are now included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[10]
Kappa Velorum is a spectroscopic binary system consisting of a pair of stars that complete an orbit around each other with a period of 116.65 days and an eccentricity of 0.19. Because the individual stars have not been resolved, further details of the orbit have not yet been determined.[5] The combined stellar classification of the pair is B2 IV,[2] which matches the class of a B-typesubgiant star that has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and begun to evolve into a giant. The primary is about nine times more massive than the Sun, with a photospheric radius twelve times larger, irradiating 13,000 times more luminosity than the Sun at an effective temperature of 18,000 K,[6] which give Kappa Velorum A the blue-white hue typical of B-type stars.[19] Nothing is known about the secondary, yet.[7]
The system is only a couple of degrees from the south celestial pole of Mars, so it could therefore be considered the southern polar star of that planet.[citation needed] Due to precession of the equinoxes, it will be the closest bright star of note to the south celestial pole of Earth in the period surrounding 9000 AD.[citation needed]
Interstellar medium
Analysis of the spectrum of Kappa Velorum shows absorption lines due to the interstellar medium between Earth and the star. Observation of these features over many years has shown that the lines vary in strength, probably caused by a small dense cloud extending 102–103au moving across the line of sight.[20][21]
^ abcdefDenoyelle, J. (March 1977), "The spatial distribution of young stars in Vela (l = 257 to 284 )", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, 27: 343–365, Bibcode:1977A&AS...27..343D
^Evans, D. S. (June 20–24, 1966). "The Revision of the General Catalogue of Radial Velocities". In Batten, Alan Henry; Heard, John Frederick (eds.). Determination of Radial Velocities and their Applications, Proceedings from IAU Symposium no. 30. Determination of Radial Velocities and Their Applications. Vol. 30. University of Toronto: International Astronomical Union. p. 57. Bibcode:1967IAUS...30...57E.
^ abPaunzen, E; Supíková, J; Bernhard, K; Hümmerich, S; Prišegen, M (2021-07-01), "Magnetic chemically peculiar stars investigated by the Solar Mass Ejection Imager", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 504 (3): 3758–3772, arXiv:2105.02206, Bibcode:2021MNRAS.504.3758P, doi:10.1093/mnras/stab1100, ISSN0035-8711
^Hessman, F. V.; Dhillon, V. S.; Winget, D. E.; Schreiber, M. R.; Horne, K.; Marsh, T. R.; Guenther, E.; Schwope, A.; Heber, U. (2010). "On the naming convention used for multiple star systems and extrasolar planets". arXiv:1012.0707 [astro-ph.SR].
^"The Colour of Stars", Australia Telescope, Outreach and Education, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, December 21, 2004, archived from the original on 2013-12-03, retrieved 2012-01-16
"The path of the Southern Celestial Pole": The System of W. B. Yeats's A Vision [1] Diagram of the southern precession circle, showing Markeb as the South Pole Star in 9000 AD.