La Superba
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La Superba (Y CVn, Y Canum Venaticorum) is a strikingly red
giant star A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moore, New York: Oxford University Press ...
in the constellation
Canes Venatici Canes Venatici () is one of the 88 constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is a small northern constellation that was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Its name is Latin for 'hunting dogs', and ...
. It is a carbon star and
semiregular variable In astronomy, a semiregular variable star, a type of variable star, is a giant or supergiant of intermediate and late (cooler) spectral type showing considerable periodicity in its light changes, accompanied or sometimes interrupted by various irre ...
.


Visibility

La Superba is a
semiregular variable star In astronomy, a semiregular variable star, a type of variable star, is a giant or supergiant of intermediate and late (cooler) spectral type showing considerable periodicity in its light changes, accompanied or sometimes interrupted by various irre ...
, varying by about a
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
over a roughly 160-day cycle, but with slower variation over a larger range. Periods of 194 and 186 days have been suggested, with a resonance between the periods. Y CVn is one of the reddest stars known, and it is among the brightest of the giant red carbon stars. It is the brightest of known
J-star J-Star stands for Jungiery Star. Jungiery is a Taiwanese Artiste Management Company. Members of J-Star are: 5566, 183 Club, 7 Flowers, Typhoon, Taiji, LALA, VJ and Cyndi Wang. R&B and K-One used to be part of J-Star too. Some of the original R& ...
s, which are a very rare category of carbon stars that contain large amounts of
carbon-13 Carbon-13 (13C) is a natural, stable isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing six protons and seven neutrons. As one of the environmental isotopes, it makes up about 1.1% of all natural carbon on Earth. Detection by mass spectrometry A mas ...
(carbon atoms with 7
neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...
s instead of the usual 6). The 19th century
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
Angelo Secchi Angelo Secchi (; 28 June 1818 – 26 February 1878) was an Italian Catholic priest, astronomer from the Italian region of Emilia. He was director of the observatory at the Pontifical Gregorian University (then called the Roman College) for ...
, impressed with its beauty, gave the star its common name, which is now accepted by the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
.


Properties

The angular diameter of La Superba has been measured at . It is expected to be pulsating but this has not been seen in the measurements. At , this corresponds to a radius of . If it were placed at the position of the Sun, the star's surface would extend beyond the
orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
. La Superba's
temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...
is believed to be about , making it one of the coolest true stars known. It is faintly visible to the naked eye, and the red colour is very obvious in binoculars. When
infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
radiation is included, Y CVn has a
bolometric luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a ...
several thousand times that of the Sun. The mass of this type of star is difficult to determine; it would initially have been around and somewhat less now due to mass loss. An estimate from
Jim Kaler James Bailey "Jim" Kaler (December 29, 1938 — November 26, 2022) was an American astronomer and science writer. After elementary and high-school education in Albany, New York, Kaler earned his A.B. at the University of Michigan in 1960. He atte ...
gives the star a luminosity between and radius between based on an assumed temperature of 3,000 K, and the author then classified it as a C7 or CN5
supergiant star Supergiants are among the most massive and most luminous stars. Supergiant stars occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram with absolute visual magnitudes between about −3 and −8. The temperature range of supergiant stars s ...
although its mass is too low to be a true supergiant. Observations in the 60 and 100 micron infrared bands by the
IRAS The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten mo ...
satellite showed that Y CVn is surrounded by a dust shell 0.9 parsecs in diameter. This is one of the most prominent circumstellar dust shells detected in the IRAS all-sky survey.


Evolution

After stars up to a few times the mass of the sun have finished fusing
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
to
helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
in their core, they start to burn hydrogen in a shell outside a degenerate
helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
core, and expand dramatically into the red giant state. Once the core reaches a high enough temperature, it ignites violently in the helium flash, which begins helium core burning on the horizontal branch. Once even the core helium is exhausted, a degenerate carbon-oxygen core remains. Fusion continues in both hydrogen and helium shells at different depths in the star, and the star increases luminosity on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). La Superba is currently an AGB star. In the AGB stars, fusion products are moved outwards from the core by strong deep
convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the conve ...
known as a
dredge-up A dredge-up is any one of several stages in the evolution of some stars. By definition, during a ''dredge-up'', a convection zone extends all the way from the star's surface down to the layers of material that have undergone fusion. Consequently, t ...
, thus creating a
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...
abundance in the outer atmosphere where
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...
and other compounds are formed. These
molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...
s tend to absorb radiation at shorter wavelengths, resulting in a
spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...
with even less blue and violet compared to ordinary red giants, giving the star its distinguished red color. La Superba is most likely in the final stages of fusing its remaining secondary fuel (helium) into carbon and shedding its mass at the rate of about a million times that of the Sun's
solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sol ...
. It is also surrounded by a 2.5 light year-wide shell of previously ejected material, implying that at one point it must have been losing mass as much as 50 times faster than it is now. La Superba thus appears almost ready to eject its outer layers to form a
planetary nebula A planetary nebula (PN, plural PNe) is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives. The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer because they are unrelate ...
, leaving behind its core in the form of a
white dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...
.


Notes


References


External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20051025230148/http://www.nckas.org/carbonstars/ * http://www.backyard-astro.com/deepsky/top100/11.html * http://jumk.de/astronomie/big-stars/la-superba.shtml {{DEFAULTSORT:La Superba Semiregular variable stars Canes Venatici Carbon stars Stars with proper names Canum Venaticorum, Y 110914 4846 062223 Durchmusterung objects Asymptotic-giant-branch stars