An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An orange-red star of → spectral type K with a surface temperature of about 3600-5000 K. The spectra of K stars are dominated by the H and K lines of calcium and lines of neutral iron and titanium, with molecular bands due to cyanogen (CN) and titanium dioxide (TiO). Examples are → Arcturus and → Aldebaran.

See also: K the letter of alphabet; → star.