Astronomy:Sterope (star)
The Sterope /ˈstɛrəpiː/ or Asterope /əˈstɛrəpiː/[1] system is a double star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. Its components have the Flamsteed designations 21 Tauri and 22 Tauri,[2] and are sometimes known as Sterope I and Sterope II, respectively.[3]
The International Astronomical Union applies the name Asterope specifically to 21 Tauri.[4] The two stars are thus
The two stars are separated by 0.047° on the sky, which is equal to 2.82 arc-minutes and thus closer than the usual naked-eye resolution limit of 4 arc-min, giving an elongated appearance of the two together. Both are members of the Pleiades open star cluster (M45) and approximately 440 light-years from the Sun.
Nomenclature
Asterope was one of the Pleiades sisters in Greek mythology.
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[5] to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.[6] It approved the name Asterope for 21 Tauri on 21 August 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[4]
Namesake
USS Sterope (AK-96) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the star.
See also
- Pleiades in folklore and literature
- Taurus (Chinese astronomy)
References
- ↑ Davis, George A. (1944). "The pronunciations, derivations, and meanings of a selected list of star names". Popular Astronomy 52: 8–30. Bibcode: 1944PA.....52....8D. http://adsbit.harvard.edu/full/1944PA.....52....8D.
- ↑ Burnham, Robert (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System. 3. Courier Corporation. pp. 1883. ISBN 9780486236735. https://books.google.com/books?id=tBQoCSRdLAAC&pg=PA1883.
- ↑ Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star names - Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Books. p. 407. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/home.html. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Naming Stars". IAU.org. https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/.
- ↑ IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), International Astronomical Union, https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/, retrieved 22 May 2016.
- ↑ "WG Triennial Report (2015-2018) - Star Names". p. 5. https://www.iau.org/static/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/wg-starnames-triennial-report-2015-2018.pdf.
 |  |
