Beta Crucis

Beta Crucis, also called Mimosa or Becrux, second brightest star (after Alpha Crucis) in the southern constellation Crux (the Southern Cross) and the 20th brightest star in the sky. Beta Crucis is a binary of two B-type stars about 280 light-years from Earth. The primary is a pulsating variable star of the Beta Cephei type; its brightness changes by a few hundredths of a magnitude every four hours. The secondary is much fainter, and it orbits the primary every five years. A young pre-main-sequence star that is very faint in visible light but bright in X-rays orbits Beta Crucis with a period of about 1,000 years.