Astronomy:Omicron Aquarii
| Observation data Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Aquarius[1] |
| Right ascension | 22h 03m 18.844s[2] |
| Declination | −02° 09′ 19.31″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +4.71[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | main sequence[4] |
| Spectral type | B5V[5] |
| U−B color index | −0.39[3] |
| B−V color index | −0.11[3] |
| Variable type | γ Cas[6] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | +11.0[7] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +24.593[2] mas/yr Dec.: −11.720[2] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 6.9984 ± 0.1424[2] mas |
| Distance | 466 ± 9 ly (143 ± 3 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −0.89[1] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 4.2[8] M☉ |
| Radius | 4.0±0.3[8] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 644[9] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 3.51[9] cgs |
| Temperature | 11,145±498[10] K |
| Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.16[1] dex |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 211±26[10] km/s |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Omicron Aquarii is a variable star in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ο Aquarii, and abbreviated Omicron Aqr or ο Aqr. Visible to the naked eye, it has an apparent visual magnitude of +4.71.[3] Parallax measurements put it at a distance of roughly 466 light-years (143 parsecs) from Earth.[2] It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +11 km/s.[7] The star is a candidate member of the Pisces-Eridanus stellar stream of co-moving stars.[12]
It has the traditional star name Kae Uh, from the Chinese 蓋屋 (Mandarin pronunciation Gài Wū).[13] In Chinese astronomy, 蓋屋 is the rooftop, an asterism consisting of ο Aquarii and 32 Aquarii.[14] Consequently, the Chinese name for ο Aquarii itself is 蓋屋一 (Gài Wū yī, English: the First Star of Roofing.)[15]
Properties

The spectrum of Omicron Aquarii fits a stellar classification of B5V, indicating that this is a main sequence star.[5]
Omicron Aquarii has 4.2 times the mass of the Sun and four[8] times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 644 times the luminosity of the Sun[9] from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 11,145 K.[10] This is classified as a Gamma Cassiopeiae type[6] variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +4.68 down to +4.89.[17] It is likely a single star, with no stellar companions.[18]
This star is spinning rapidly with an equatorial rotational velocity of 368 km/s, which is ~96% of the star's critical rotation velocity of 391 km/s.[8] This is creating an equatorial bulge with a radius of 6.8±1.0 R☉ compared to a polar radius of 6.0±0.8 R☉. As a result, the polar temperature 11,500±578 K; higher than the equator.[10]
The emission lines are being generated by a circumstellar disk of hot hydrogen gas.[19] This disk has been globally stable for at least twenty years, as of 2020.[8] It is inclined at an angle of 75°±3° to the plane of the sky. 90% of the hydrogen emission comes from within 9.5 stellar radii of the host star, and the disk has an estimated mass of ∼1.8×10−10 of the star's mass.[20]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012). "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation". Astronomy Letters 38 (5): 331. doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015. Bibcode: 2012AstL...38..331A XHIP record for this object at VizieR.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Feinstein, A.; Marraco, H. G. (November 1979), "The photometric behavior of Be Stars", Astronomical Journal 84: 1713–1725, doi:10.1086/112600, Bibcode: 1979AJ.....84.1713F.
- ↑ Zorec, J.; Royer, F. (2012). "Rotational velocities of A-type stars. IV. Evolution of rotational velocities". Astronomy and Astrophysics 537: A120. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117691. Bibcode: 2012A&A...537A.120Z.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arcos, C.; Kanaan, S.; Chávez, J.; Vanzi, L.; Araya, I.; Curé, M. (2018). "Stellar parameters and H α line profile variability of be stars in the BeSOS survey". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 474 (4): 5287. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx3075. Bibcode: 2018MNRAS.474.5287A.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "omi Aqr", General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Sternberg Astronomical Institute), http://www.sai.msu.su/gcvs/cgi-bin/ident.cgi?cat=HD++&num=209409, retrieved 2012-07-03. Note: type = GCAS.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wielen, R. et al. (1999), "Sixth Catalogue of Fundamental Stars (FK6). Part I. Basic fundamental stars with direct solutions", Veroeffentlichungen des Astronomischen Rechen-Instituts Heidelberg (Astronomisches Rechen-Institut Heidelberg) 35 (35): 1, Bibcode: 1999VeARI..35....1W.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 de Almeida, E. S. G. et al. (April 2020), "Visible and near-infrared spectro-interferometric analysis of the edge-on Be star o Aquarii", Astronomy & Astrophysics 636: 23, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201936039, A110, Bibcode: 2020A&A...636A.110D.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Zorec, J.; Frémat, Y.; Domiciano De Souza, A.; Royer, F.; Cidale, L.; Hubert, A.-M.; Semaan, T.; Martayan, C. et al. (2016). "Critical study of the distribution of rotational velocities of be stars. I. Deconvolution methods, effects due to gravity darkening, macroturbulence, and binarity". Astronomy and Astrophysics 595: A132. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201628760. Bibcode: 2016A&A...595A.132Z.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Turis-Gallo, D. et al. (March 2025), "Unveiling stellar spin: Determining inclination angles in Be stars", Astronomy & Astrophysics 695: id. A129, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452825, Bibcode: 2025A&A...695A.129T.
- ↑ "omi Aqr". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=omi+Aqr.
- ↑ Curtis, Jason L. et al. (August 2019), "TESS Reveals that the Nearby Pisces-Eridanus Stellar Stream is only 120 Myr Old", The Astronomical Journal 158 (2): 11, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab2899, 77, Bibcode: 2019AJ....158...77C.
- ↑ Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Reprint ed.), New York: Dover Publications Inc, p. 53, ISBN 0-486-21079-0, https://archive.org/details/starnamestheirlo00alle/page/53, retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist. 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
- ↑ Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist. AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 5 月 16 日
- ↑ MAST: Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes, Space Telescope Science Institute, https://mast.stsci.edu/portal/Mashup/Clients/Mast/Portal.html, retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ↑ Ruban, E. V. et al. (September 2006), "Spectrophotometric observations of variable stars", Astronomy Letters 32 (9): 604–607, doi:10.1134/S1063773706090052R, Bibcode: 2006AstL...32..604R.
- ↑ Hutter, D. J. et al. (2021), "Surveying the Bright Stars by Optical Interferometry. III. A Magnitude-limited Multiplicity Survey of Classical Be Stars", The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 257 (2): 69, doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ac23cb, Bibcode: 2021ApJS..257...69H.
- ↑ Meilland, A. et al. (February 2012), "First spectro-interferometric survey of Be stars. I. Observations and constraints on the disk geometry and kinematics", Astronomy & Astrophysics 538: A110, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117955, Bibcode: 2012A&A...538A.110M.
- ↑ Sigut, T. A. A. et al. (December 2015), "The Circumstellar Disk of the Be Star o Aquarii as Constrained by Simultaneous Spectroscopy and Optical Interferometry", The Astrophysical Journal 814 (2): id. 159, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/159, Bibcode: 2015ApJ...814..159S.
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