This is an astrometric binary[13] star system with an orbital period of 6.0 years and a projected separation of 8.3 AU.

[3][13][10] However, Houk and Smith-Moore (1988) give a main sequence classification of A1 V,[14] while Abt and Morrell (1995) list it as a subgiant star with a class of A2 IV.

[8] The companion, component B, is a white dwarf[10] of class DA with an effective temperature of 36,885 K that has been cooling down for around four million years.

[11] It has an unusually low mass, 43% that of the Sun, suggesting that the white dwarf progenitor may have transferred matter to its companion.

[21] Consequently, β Crateris itself is known as 翼宿十六 (Yì Sù shíliù, English: the Sixteenth Star of Wings.