HD 53143

HD 53143 is a star in the Carina constellation, located about 59.8 ly from the Earth. With an apparent visual magnitude of 6.80, this star is a challenge to view with the naked eye even under ideal viewing conditions.

Using the technique of gyrochronology, which measures the age of a low-mass star based on its rotation, HD 53143 is about 1,010 ± 130 million years old. Depending on the source, the stellar classification for this star is G9 V or K1V, placing it near the borderline between G-type and K-type main sequence stars. In either case, it is generating energy through the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen at its core. This star is smaller than the Sun, with about 85% of the Sun's radius. It is emitting only 70% of the Sun's luminosity. The effective temperature of the star's outer envelope is cooler than the Sun at 5,224 K, giving it a golden-orange hue.

Debris disk
Based upon an excess of infrared emission, a circumstellar debris disk has been found in this sysyem. This disk is inclined at an angle of about 40–50° to the line of sight from the Earth and it has an estimated mass of more than 7 × 1020 kg. (For comparison, the mass of the Moon is 7.3477 × 1022 kg.) This is one of the oldest known debris disk systems and hence may be replenished through the collision of larger bodies. The observed inner edge of the disk is at a distance of 55 Astronomical Units (AU) from the host star, while it stretches out to twice that distance, or 110 AU. This debris disk may extend outside this range, as the measurements are limited by the sensitivity of the instruments. The dust appears evenly distributed with no indication of clumping. The eccentricity of the ring is also one of the highest known, at 0.21.