Astronomy:U Cephei

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Short description: Eclipsing binary star
U Cephei
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U Cephei, as seen during the Digitized Sky Survey
Observation data
Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS)
Constellation Cepheus
Right ascension  01h 02m 18.4440s[1]
Declination +81° 52′ 32.082″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 6.92[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type B7/8V + G5/8III-IV[3]
Variable type Eclipsing binary
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)5.0[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 23.811[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −4.381[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)5.1939 ± 0.0238[1] mas
Distance628 ± 3 ly
(192.5 ± 0.9 pc)
Orbit[3]
PrimaryU Cep A (B-type star)
CompanionU Cep B (G-type star)
Period (P)2.4928 d
Semi-major axis (a)14.7 R
Eccentricity (e)0
Inclination (i)83°
Semi-amplitude (K1)
(primary)
120 km/s
Semi-amplitude (K2)
(secondary)
180 km/s
Details[3]
U Cep A (B-type star)
Mass4.2 M
Radius2.9 R
Temperature13600 K
U Cep B (G-type star)
Mass2.8 M
Radius4.7 R
Temperature4950 K
Other designations
BD+81° 25, HD 5679, HIP 4843, SAO 168[2]
Database references
SIMBADdata

U Cephei is an eclipsing binary star discovered in 1880.[5][6] It consists of a blue-white main sequence star of spectral type B7/8V that is eclipsed every two and a half days by a less bright giant of type G5/8III-IV.[3] The drop in brightness lasts 4 hours and the system sees its apparent magnitude increase from 6.7 to 9.2. The total eclipse then lasts 2 hours before an increase in brightness for 4 hours. The two stars, separated by less than 10,000,000 kilometres (6,200,000 mi), exchange matter. This transfer towards the blue giant caused the system's orbital period to lengthen by 4 minutes during the 20th century. U Cephei is one of the brightest eclipsing binaries. Located near the north celestial pole, it can be monitored continuously with a 60 millimeter telescope.[7]

A light curve for U Cephei, plotted from TESS data. [8] The 2.493 day eclipse period is shown in red.

The system has two visual companions listed in the double and multiple star catalogs. U Cephei B is a twelfth magnitude star that, as of 2016, was located at an angular distance of 13.9 arcseconds and at a position angle of 63° from U Cephei A. It exhibits a common proper motion with the system, which indicates that it is physically linked to it. U Cephei C is another twelfth magnitude star, but it is only a purely optical double and its proximity to the system is a coincidence.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Brown, A. G. A. (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics 649: A1. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657. Bibcode2021A&A...649A...1G.  Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "V* U Cep". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=V%2A+U+Cep. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tupa, Peter R.; Deleo, Gary G.; McCluskey, George E.; Kondo, Yoji; Sahade, Jorge; Giménez, Alvaro; Caton, Daniel B. (2013). "Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Analysis of Transient Mass Flow Outburst in U Cephei". The Astrophysical Journal 775 (1): 46. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/775/1/46. Bibcode2013ApJ...775...46T. 
  4. Wilson, Ralph Elmer (1953). "General catalogue of stellar radial velocities". Carnegie Institute Washington D.C. Publication. Bibcode1953GCRV..C......0W. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1953GCRV..C......0W. 
  5. "U Cephei | astronomy | Britannica" (in en). https://www.britannica.com/topic/U-Cephei. 
  6. Gimenez, A.; Guinan, E. F.; Gonzalez-Riestra, R. (1993-01-01). "UV and X-ray emission in the interacting binary U Cephei" (in en). Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 97 (1): 261. ISSN 0365-0138. Bibcode1993A&AS...97..261G. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930044940. 
  7. "U Cephei Star Facts - Universe Guide" (in en-us). January 25, 2015. https://www.universeguide.com/star/4843/ucephei. 
  8. "MAST: Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes". Space Telescope Science Institute. https://mast.stsci.edu/portal/Mashup/Clients/Mast/Portal.html. 
  9. Knott, George (June 9, 1882). "On the Variable Star U Cephei". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 42 (8): 384–385. doi:10.1093/mnras/42.8.384a. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/42/8/384/951182. Retrieved September 27, 2024.