8 Andromedae
8 Andromedae, abbreviated 8 And, is a probable triple star system in the northern constellation of Andromeda. 8 Andromedae is the Flamsteed designation. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.82. Based upon an annual parallax shift of, it is located 540 light years from the Earth. It is moving closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of −8 km/s.
The primary component is an aging red giant star with a stellar classification of. The suffix notation indicates this is a mild barium star, which means the stellar atmosphere is enriched with s-process elements. It is either a member of a close binary system and has previously acquired these elements from a white dwarf companion or else it is on the asymptotic giant branch and is generating the elements itself. This is a periodic variable of unknown type, changing in brightness with an amplitude of 0.0161 magnitude at a frequency of 0.23354 d−1, or once every 4.3 days.
The third component is a magnitude 13.0 star at an angular separation of along a position angle of 164°, as of 2015.
