Astronomy:Asterope (star)
Asterope or Sterope is the traditional name of a double star, whose components are designated 21 Tauri and 22 Tauri, in the constellation of Taurus,[1] although the International Astronomical Union now regards the name Asterope as only applying to 21 Tauri.[2] They are sometimes known as Sterope I and Sterope II.[3]
They are separated by 0.047° on the sky and are both members of the Pleiades open star cluster (M45) and approximately 440 light-years from the Sun.
Nomenclature
| Observation data Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Right ascension | 03h 45m 54.4s |
| Declination | +24° 33' 17" |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +5.76 |
| Distance | 440 ly (135 pc) |
| Spectral type | B8V |
| Other designations | |
| Observation data Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Right ascension | 03h 46m 02.9s |
| Declination | +24° 31' 41" |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +6.43 |
| Distance | 440 ly (135 pc) |
| Spectral type | A0Vn |
| Other designations | |
21 Tauri and 22 Tauri are the stars' Flamsteed designations.
Asterope was one of the Pleiades sisters in Greek mythology.
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[4] to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.[5] 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.[2]
Namesake
USS Sterope (AK-96) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the star.
Properties
21 Tauri is a blue-white B-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +5.76.
22 Tauri is a white A-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +6.43.
References
- ↑ Burnham, Robert (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System. 3. Courier Corporation. pp. 1883. https://books.google.com/books?id=tBQoCSRdLAAC&pg=PA1883.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Naming Stars". IAU.org. https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ↑ Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star names - Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Books. p. 407. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/home.html. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
- ↑ 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. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
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