Alpha Octantis

Alpha Octantis

A light curve for Alpha Octantis plotted from TESS data[1]
Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation	Octans
Right ascension	21^h 04^m 43.06347^s[2]
Declination	−77° 01′ 25.5735″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)	5.13[3]
Characteristics
Spectral type	F4III + F5III (spectroscopic binary)[4]
U−B color index	+0.13[5]
B−V color index	+0.490±0.008[3]
Variable type	EB[6]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	85.9±1.5[3] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: +22.5215[2] mas/yr Dec.: −369.325[2] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	22.5215±0.0955 mas[2]
Distance	144.8 ± 0.6 ly (44.4 ± 0.2 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)	1.93±0.02[7]
Orbit[4]
Period (P)	9.073 d
Eccentricity (e)	0.39
Periastron epoch (T)	2,435,302.404
Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary)	276°
Semi-amplitude (K1) (primary)	47 km/s
Semi-amplitude (K2) (secondary)	47 km/s
Details
Mass	1.42[8] M☉
Radius	3.69[9] R☉
Temperature	6,270[7] K
Metallicity [Fe/H]	0.07[7] dex
Rotational velocity (v sin i)	85[10] km/s
Age	1.5±0.1[7] Gyr
Other designations
α Oct, CD−77°1053, CPD−77°1474, FK5 787, GC 29343, HD 199532, HIP 104043, HR 8021, SAO 257879, PPM 374864, LTT 8327, NLTT 50332[11]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

Alpha Octantis is a binary star^[12] system in the constellation of Octans. The name is Latinized from α Octantis. Despite being labeled the "alpha" star by Lacaille, it is not the brightest star in the constellation—that title belongs to Nu Octantis. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, yellow-white-hued point of light with an overall apparent visual magnitude of approximately 5.13.^[3] The system is located approximately 148 light-years away from the Sun based on parallax.

This is a double-lined spectroscopic binary star which consists of two similar giant stars, each with spectral type F, orbiting each other with a period of just over 9 days and an eccentricity of 0.39.^[4] The pair form a Beta Lyrae-type eclipsing binary system, dropping by magnitude 0.04 during the primary eclipse.^[6] This system is a bright X-ray source with a luminosity of 22.78×10²⁹ ergs s⁻¹.^[13] The system displays an infrared excess suggesting the presence of a debris disk; with a temperature of 219 K and is orbiting at a distance of 9.8 AU from its host star.^[14]

References

1. "MAST: Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes". Space Telescope Science Institute. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
2. Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616. A1. arXiv:1804.09365. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
3. Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012). "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation". Astronomy Letters. 38 (5): 331. arXiv:1108.4971. Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A. doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015. S2CID 119257644.
4. The double-lined binary alpha Octantis, William Buscombe and Pamela M. Morris, The Observatory 80 (February 1960), pp. 28–29, Bibcode:1960Obs....80...28B.
5. HR 8021, database entry, The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed. (Preliminary Version), D. Hoffleit and W. H. Warren, Jr., CDS ID V/50. Accessed on line September 4, 2008.
6. Samus', N. N; et al. (2017). "General catalogue of variable stars". Astronomy Reports. 5.1. 61 (1): 80. Bibcode:2017ARep...61...80S. doi:10.1134/S1063772917010085. S2CID 125853869.
7. Nordström, B.; et al. (2004). "The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of ˜14 000 F and G dwarfs". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 418: 989–1019. arXiv:astro-ph/0405198. Bibcode:2004A&A...418..989N. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20035959. S2CID 11027621.
8. Tokovinin, A.; et al. (May 2006), "Tertiary companions to close spectroscopic binaries", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 450 (2): 681–693, arXiv:astro-ph/0601518, Bibcode:2006A&A...450..681T, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20054427, S2CID 8899546
9. Cotten, Tara H.; Song, Inseok (July 2016), "A Comprehensive Census of Nearby Infrared Excess Stars", The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 225 (1): 24, arXiv:1606.01134, Bibcode:2016ApJS..225...15C, doi:10.3847/0067-0049/225/1/15, S2CID 118438871, 15.
10. van Belle, Gerard T. (March 2012). "Interferometric observations of rapidly rotating stars". The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. 20 (1): 51. arXiv:1204.2572. Bibcode:2012A&ARv..20...51V. doi:10.1007/s00159-012-0051-2. S2CID 119273474.
11. "* alf Oct". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
12. Eggleton, P. P.; Tokovinin, A. A. (September 2008). "A catalogue of multiplicity among bright stellar systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 389 (2): 869–879. arXiv:0806.2878. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.389..869E. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13596.x. S2CID 14878976.
13. Makarov, Valeri V. (October 2003), "The 100 Brightest X-Ray Stars within 50 Parsecs of the Sun", The Astronomical Journal, 126 (4): 1996–2008, Bibcode:2003AJ....126.1996M, doi:10.1086/378164.
14. Trilling, D.E.; Stansberry, J.A.; Stapelfeldt, K.R.; Rieke, G.H.; Su, K.Y.L; Gray, R.O; Corbally, C.J; Bryden, G; Chen, C.H.; Boden, A; Beichman, C.A (2007). "DEBRIS DISKS IN MAIN-SEQUENCE BINARY SYSTEMS" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 658: 1289-1311.

External links

• Alpha Octantis, Jim Kaler, Stars.