La Superba (Y CVn, Y Canum Venaticorum) is a strikingly red giant star in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is faintly visible to the naked eye, and the red colour is very obvious in binoculars. It is a carbon star and semiregular variable. Its name in Italian means "the magnificent [star]". The 19th century astronomer Angelo Secchi, impressed with its beauty, gave the star its common name, which is accepted by the International Astronomical Union.
HINT:
In this Dossier
Y Canum Venaticorum in the context of Carbon star
A carbon star (C-type star) is typically an asymptotic giant branch star, a luminous red giant, whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen. The two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes most of the oxygen in the atmosphere, leaving carbon atoms free to form other carbon compounds, giving the star a "sooty" atmosphere and a strikingly ruby red appearance. There are also some dwarf and supergiant carbon stars, with the more common giant stars sometimes being called classical carbon stars to distinguish them.
In most stars (such as the Sun), the atmosphere is richer in oxygen than carbon. Ordinary stars not exhibiting the characteristics of carbon stars but cool enough to form carbon monoxide are therefore called oxygen-rich stars.
View the full Wikipedia page for Carbon star