Astronomy:15 Cancri

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Short description: Star in the constellation Cancer
15 Cancri
Location of 15 Cancri (circled)
Observation data
Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS)
Constellation Cancer
Right ascension  08h 13m 08.86806s[1]
Declination +29° 39′ 23.5368″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 5.53 - 5.65[2]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage main sequence[3]
Spectral type A0:V:spSiSr[4]
B−V color index −0.073±0.002[5]
Variable type α2 CVn[2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)25.0±0.8[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −11.265[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −19.506[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)4.6720 ± 0.2238[1] mas
Distance700 ± 30 ly
(210 ± 10 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−0.97[5]
Orbit[6]
Primary15 Cancri A
Companion15 Cancri B
Period (P)635.73±0.53 days[note 1]
Eccentricity (e)0.55±0.08
Periastron epoch (T)2422045±18
Argument of periapsis (ω)
(primary)
196±13°
Semi-amplitude (K1)
(primary)
9.6±1.1 km/s
Details
15 Cnc A
Mass2.4[3] M
Radius3.4[3] R
Luminosity131[3] L
Surface gravity (log g)3.68[3] cgs
Temperature10,400[3] K
Rotation6.563 days[7]
Rotational velocity (v sin i)25[4] km/s
Age358[8] Gyr
Other designations
15 Cnc, BM Cnc, BD+30°1664, HD 68351, HIP 40240, HR 3215, GSC 01939-01462[9]
Database references
SIMBADdata
A light curve for BM Cancri, plotted from TESS data[10]

15 Cancri is an α2 CVn-type variable star in the zodiac constellation of Cancer, located around 700 light years away.[1] It has the variable star designation BM Cancri (BM Cnc); 15 Cancri (15 Cnc) is the Flamsteed designation. This system is visible to the naked eye as a faint, white-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of about 5.6. It is moving away from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of 25 km/s.[6]

Radial velocity measurements taken at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia Canada in 1918 and 1919 led to the determination that 15 Cancri is a single-lined spectroscopic binary system.[11] The first orbit was calculated in 1973 by Helmut Abt and Michael Snowden with a period of 585 days[12] however later measurements showed that the orbital period was 635 days.[6][note 1]

15 Cancri A, the visible component, is an Ap star, a chemically peculiar star with an over-abundance of iron peak elements, particularly silicon, chromium, and strontium, in its spectrum.[13][4]

Like all Ap stars, 15 Cancri has a strong magnetic field. This magnetic field varies as it rotates and in 1968 the visual brightness of the star was shown to vary regularly over about four days.[14] 15 Cancri was given the variable star designation BM Cancri in 1972 as a member of the α2 CVn class of variable stars.[15] The period has since been measured more accurately at 3.3095 d, believed to be the rotational period of the star.[16]

In Johann Bayer’s Uranometria, this star was designated as Psi Geminorum. When the constellation borders were set in 1930, it was moved to Cancer, so the designation has been dropped.[17]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 An alternate period of 475 days is possible but less likely.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Vallenari, A. et al. (2022). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940  Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Samus, N. N. et al. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S 1. Bibcode2009yCat....102025S. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Glagolevskij, Yu. V. (2019). "On Properties of Main Sequence Magnetic Stars". Astrophysical Bulletin 74 (1): 66. doi:10.1134/S1990341319010073. Bibcode2019AstBu..74...66G. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Abt, Helmut A.; Morrell, Nidia I. (1995). "The Relation between Rotational Velocities and Spectral Peculiarities among A-Type Stars". Astrophysical Journal Supplement 99: 135. doi:10.1086/192182. Bibcode1995ApJS...99..135A. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012). "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation". Astronomy Letters 38 (5): 331. doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015. Bibcode2012AstL...38..331A. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Stickland, D. J.; Weatherby, J. (1984). "Radial velocities of northern Mercury stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 57: 55–67. Bibcode1984A&AS...57...55S. 
  7. Balona, L. A. (2022). "Rapidly oscillating TESS A-F main-sequence stars: Are the roAp stars a distinct class?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 510 (4): 5743. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac011. Bibcode2022MNRAS.510.5743B. 
  8. Kordopatis, G.; Schultheis, M.; McMillan, P. J.; Palicio, P. A.; De Laverny, P.; Recio-Blanco, A.; Creevey, O.; Álvarez, M. A. et al. (2023). "Stellar ages, masses, extinctions, and orbital parameters based on spectroscopic parameters of Gaia DR3". Astronomy and Astrophysics 669: A104. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202244283. Bibcode2023A&A...669A.104K. 
  9. "15 Cancri". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=15+Cancri. 
  10. "MAST: Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes". Space Telescope Science Institute. https://mast.stsci.edu/portal/Mashup/Clients/Mast/Portal.html. 
  11. Plaskett, J. S. et al. (1919). "Fourth list of spectroscopic binaries". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 13: 372–378. Bibcode1919JRASC..13..372P. 
  12. Abt, Helmut A.; Snowden, Michael S. (1973). "The Binary Frequency for AP Stars". Astrophysical Journal Supplement 25: 137–162. doi:10.1086/190265. Bibcode1973ApJS...25..137A. 
  13. Renson, P.; Manfroid, J. (2009). "Catalogue of Ap, Hg Mn and Am stars". Astronomy & Astrophysics 498 (3): 961–966. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200810788. Bibcode2009A&A...498..961R. 
  14. Stepien, K. (1968). "Photometric behavior of magnetic stars". The Astrophysical Journal 154: 945. doi:10.1086/149815. Bibcode1968ApJ...154..945S. 
  15. Martins, D. H. (1972). "New Southern Variable Stars". Information Bulletin on Variable Stars 705: 1. Bibcode1972IBVS..705....1M. 
  16. Wraight, K. T.; Fossati, L.; Netopil, M.; Paunzen, E.; Rode-Paunzen, M.; Bewsher, D.; Norton, A. J.; White, Glenn J. (2012). "A photometric study of chemically peculiar stars with the STEREO satellites - I. Magnetic chemically peculiar stars★". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 420 (1): 757–772. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20090.x. Bibcode2012MNRAS.420..757W. 
  17. Ian Ridpath. "Bayer's Uranometria and Bayer letters". http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/bayer.htm.