Template:Infobox star/doc

{{Infobox star}} is an {{Infobox}}-based template designed to present a summary of important facts about a specified star. It is intended to be used at the top of an article about a star, but may also be used in a section about a star in an article about a broader or loosely related topic, if appropriate. Designed as a replacement for the {{Starbox begin}} series, it features an integrated star map and interchangeable sections that can be activated by simple cell parameters, with support for a summary of double and triple star systems. It is an intricate template that is made up of inputs for 25 parameters, with up to 24 additional parameters for expansion when summarising information about a two or three-star system. A <div> phrase is used to create the frameless location map that appears as the default lead image, and 37 {{#if:}} parser functions are used for the template's interchangeable sections.

Syntax

Alpha Centauri

File:Alpha, Beta and Proxima Centauri (1).jpg α Centauri AB is the bright star to the left, with Proxima Centauri circled in red. The bright star to the right is β Centauri
Constellation	Centaurus
Coordinates	14h 39m 36.49400s –60° 50′ 02.3737″
Distance	4.37 light years
Epoch	J2000.0
Alpha Centauri A
Proper name	Rigil Kentaurus
Apparent m	+0.01
Spectral type	G2V
Age	≈4.4 billion years
Mass	1.100 solar masses
Radius	1.2234±0.0053 solar radii
Rotation	22±5.9 days
Alpha Centauri B
Proper name	Toliman
Apparent m	+1.33
Spectral type	K1V
Age	≈6.5 billion years
Mass	0.907 solar masses
Radius	0.8632±0.0037 solar radii
Rotation	36 days
Orbit
Period	79.91±0.011 years
a axis	17.57±0.022°
Eccentricity	0.5179±0.00076
Inclination	79.205±0.041°

PSR B1257+12

Diagram showing star positions and boundaries of the Virgo constellation and its surroundings File:Red circle.svg Location of PSR B1257+12 in Virgo (circled)
Proper name	Lich
Constellation	Virgo
Coordinates	13h 00m 01s +12° 40′ 57″
Distance	2,300 light years
Epoch	J2000.0
Characteristics
Age	1-3 billion years
Mass	1.100 solar masses
Radius	1.2234±0.0053 solar radii
Rotation	6.219 milliseconds
Planets	Draugr Poltergeist Phobetor

{{Infobox star}}'s syntax features a base of 25 parameters for an article or section describing a single star. An additional 12 parameters can be used to convert the infobox into one that describes a two-star system. It can also be expanded by another 12 parameters to convert the infobox into one that describes a three-star system. These additional parameters are shown below in the example code, separated by line breaks from the base parameters. The examples presented at right show the template as it appears when the base parameters are used for the pulsar PSR B1257+12, and when the first expanded set of 12 parameters are used for the Alpha Centauri system, with Proxima Centauri excluded due to it having its own article. The syntax for this template, in its intended order and spacing, is presented below. <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="width:20%;">

Diagram showing star positions and boundaries of the constellation and its surroundings px Location of in (circled)

</syntaxhighlight>

Parameters

Header and image

File:Aquarius constellation map.svg

Setting |constellation= to Aquarius produces a map of the constellation Aquarius as the lead image when |image= is not active.

The |name= parameter sets the name of the template, displayed in large, bold font at its heading. {{Infobox star}} features a location map as a default lead image if |image= is not active. It uses an English-language map of a constellation specified in |constellation=, created by Torsten Bronger. For example, a map of Orion will be displayed if the parameter is set to |constellation=Orion. This is achieved by fixing the infobox image to File:{{{constellation|}}} constellation map.svg, taking advantage of the maps' harmonised filenames under Wikimedia Commons guidelines. The minimalist design of these vector maps are preferred over the maps published by the International Astronomical Union as they are hard to read at a thumbnail level. A <div> phrase is used to create the location map instead of {{Location map+}}, as the template, along with its variants, do not have support for frameless thumbnails, which allow users to display thumbnail sizes according to their preferences as advised by the Manual of Style. The Location map templates are by default fixed to 250px width, and any attempt to set it to a frameless width will result in a Lua error. A caption for the map is also fixed and the corresponding |caption= parameter disabled if |image= is not active. Its syntax is written as "Location of {{{name|}}} in {{{constellation|}}} (circled)". Coordinates for the location map's circle will have to be inputted as well, through |map x= and |map y=. The circle used for the location map, File:Red circle.svg, is set to a width of 12px as default. This can be changed through a |map circle= parameter, where its width in pixels, excluding the "px" affix, can be inputted.

When an input for |image= is detected, the location map is disabled entirely, through the use of an {{#if:}} parser function. In this instance, |image= is used to input the filename of an image to be displayed as the lead image, excluding its "File:" prefix. Per the Manual of Style's image size guidelines, the width of the image is fixed to frameless, to ensure that users' preferences for thumbnail sizes are respected. Both |caption= and |alt= are also made active when |image= is, with |caption= intended to be used to input an appropriate descriptive caption for the image displayed in |image=, and |alt= intended to be used to input an alt caption for the same image. The use of {{Longitem}} is highly encouraged if the caption is larger than a single line.

Parameters

Cell	Parameter	Description
Summary		A summary of the basic information about the star or star system, comprising its name, location, and distance. The "Summary" header name does not appear in the infobox at all, as its inclusion would unnecessarily take up space in the infobox; it is presumed that casual readers would understand that this section is a basic summary even in the header's absence.
Proper name	proper name	The proper name for the star, as defined by the International Astronomical Union and its Working Group on Star Names, if not already defined in the article title; the star's proper name might not be the article title because of common name guidelines. A primary source for proper names of stars can be found at the Working Group's catalogue of star names. When |proper name b= and/or |proper name c= is active, the position of this cell is moved down to the "Characteristics" section of the A star in the system, and described the proper name of the A star. This is achieved with multiple {{#if:}} parser functions.
Constellation	constellation	The name of the constellation in which the star is located. The input for this parameter is directly tied to a wikilink, with the related syntax being "[[{{{constellation|}}} (constellation)|{{{constellation|}}}]]", so only a bare input of the constellation's name is required, with no wikilink tags. This is also important as |constellation= also inputs the name of the constellation into the lead image and its caption when |image= is not active, as described in the "Header and image" section above.
Galaxy	galaxy	The name of the galaxy in which the star is located, if not the Milky Way.
Coordinates	ascension, declination	The right ascension and declination of a star in the night sky. The use of {{RA}} and {{DEC}} for each parameter is highly encouraged. The two parts of the celestial coordinate system are merged into one cell as this arrangement takes up less space in the infobox than having them as separate cells. The coordinates are separated on two lines using {{Unbulleted list}}, per the Manual of style guidelines on text formatting.
Distance	distance	The distance of the star from the Earth and the Sun. Use the units of light-years, parsecs, or megaparsecs in their full spelling, when appropriate. For example, it would be appropriate to write the distance of the star in parsecs if it is located beyond the Milky Way.
Epoch	epoch	The epoch in which certain time-sensitive information presented in the article would be, or was, true. J2000 is the most common reference point for astronomers.
Characteristics		A summary of the physical characteristics of the star. This header appears when any |b= and |c= parameters are not active. When any of those parameters are made active, the heading is converted into a heading bearing the Bayer designation name of the star being described in the section, which would be A, B, or C. This is achieved through the use of multiple {{#if:}} parser functions.
Apparent m	magnitude	The apparent magnitude of the star as it appears from Earth in visible wavelengths. Use + and - symbols to denote a positive or negative m. The cell label is truncated to "Apparent m" so that the label column in the infobox is thin as possible as to allow the cell column to fit a reasonable amount of detail on a single line.
Spectral type	spectral	The star's spectral classification. A wikilink to the classification's proper name is highly encouraged. For example, "DA2" should wikilink to White dwarf.
Age	age	The star's age in units of either millions of years or billions of years. If the star's age is greater than 1 billion years, use "n billion years", and if it is less, use "n million years"
Mass	mass	The mass of the star in units of solar masses. Be sure to wikilink the units used, as [[solar mass]]es.
Radius	radius	The radius of the star in units of solar radii. Be sure to wikilink the units used, as [[solar radii]].
Rotation	rotation	The time it takes for a star to rotate once on its axis. Use either units of milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, days, or years where appropriate. For example, it would be inappropriate to write the rotation period of a pulsar as "0.000046296 days" if it can be more easily written and understood as "4 seconds".
Planets	planets	The proper names of planets orbiting the star in order of closest to farthest periapsis, presented in a {{Hlist}} format with wikilinks, if articles for the planets exist on Wikipedia. If no proper names exist, use their Bayer designation names, "a, b, c, etc."
Orbit		A summary of the main four orbital parameters of the star – time, distance, shape, and tilt. This header always appears despite any segregation of the infobox into details about separate stars, distinguishing these four cells from the "Characteristics" cells for each star.
Period	period	The time it takes for a star to complete one orbit around its parent star. Use either units of minutes, hours, days, months, or years where appropriate. For example, it would be inapproporiate to write the orbital period of a star as "0.0273973 years" if it can be more easily written and understood as "10 days".
a axis	axis	The distance of the star's Semi-major axis from its parent star. Use astronomical units, with the unit written as "AU" to aid in keeping the cell as short as possible. The cell's header has been truncated to "a axis", as a is often used to describe the semi-major axis in orbital equations. For similar reasons to the truncation of the "Apparent m" cell header, this is to ensure that the label column in the infobox is thin as possible as to allow the cell column to fit a reasonable amount of detail on a single line.
Eccentricity	eccentricity	The value that determines the shape of the orbit in orbital equations. A value of 0 is a circular orbit, values between 0 and 1 form an elliptic orbit, 1 is a parabolic escape orbit, and greater than 1 is a hyperbola.
Inclination	inclination	The tilt of a star's orbit from the axis of rotation of its parent star. This value is measured in degrees, and should be denoted with a degree symbol (°).

Expansion cells

Sirius

Sirius A
Spectral type	A0mA1 Va
Sirius B
Spectral type	DA2

For articles or sections describing a star system, it would be appropriate to expand {{Infobox star}} with a suite of parameters that add support for information on two-star and three-star systems. This is possible by simply adding a "b" or "c" to the end of parameter names under "Characteristics" and "Orbit", such as |radius b= or |eccentricity c=. "b" parameters help describe a secondary star in the system, while "c" parameters help describe a tertiary star in the system. Additionally, the |proper name= parameter can be expanded with "b" and "c" names as well. When any "b" or "c" cell is active, the infobox design is rearranged from a structure describing a single star to that describing a star system. The "Characteristics" headings become title headers with the Bayer designation for the stars displayed; the "Orbit" headers remain consistent, however. When any particular "b" or "c" cell is active, {{#if:}} parsers check to see if a wikilink to that cell's label already exists in the infobox. If it does, the wikilink is removed, and if there is not, a wikilink is placed onto the label. An example on the right shows how the wikilink for |spectral b='s label is removed if one already exists for |spectral='s label. This is to comply with the Manual of Style's guidelines on overlinking.

Succession

{{Infobox star}} was designed to be a replacement for the "Starbox" series of templates that were primarily used as summary boxes prior to the standardisation of {{Infobox}}es. They were used from 2005 to 2019. The series was made up of 15 separate templates, of which their purpose has now been succeeded by {{Infobox star}}. The "Starbox" series as a whole featured many more cells than {{Infobox star}}, and often went into detail that exceeded the purpose of an infobox as a summary (and not supplant) of key facts that appear in an article. This inspired and informed the selection of {{Infobox star}}'s limited amount of parameters and cells, in order to resolve this issue. The 15 templates of the "Starbox" series are presented below.

• {{Starbox begin}}
• {{Starbox image}}
• {{Starbox observe}}
• {{Starbox observe 2s}}
• {{Starbox observe 3s}}

• {{Starbox character}}
• {{Starbox astrometry}}
• {{Starbox orbit}}
• {{Starbox detail}}
• {{Starbox relpos}}

• {{Starbox catalog}}
• {{Starbox reference}}
• {{Starbox sources}}
• {{Starbox end}}
• {{Starbox short}}

See also

• {{Infobox astronomical object}}
• {{Infobox comet}}
• {{Infobox galaxy cluster}}
• {{Infobox globular cluster}}
• {{Infobox open cluster}}
• {{Infobox planet}}