Delta Persei (Delta Per, δ Persei, δ Per) is a

double star In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a ...

in the northern constellation of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

. It has an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of 3.01, making it readily visible with the naked eye.

Parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby object ...

measurements give it a distance of about from the Earth. The

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 color ...

of this star matches a

stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting t ...

of B5 III, which indicates it is a

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 ...

that has

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation te ...

away from the

main sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...

after exhausting the hydrogen at its core. It has about seven times the

Sun's mass The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass of ...

and has an estimated age of 6.8 million years. The

effective temperature The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surface temperature ...

of the outer envelope is 14,890 K, with the energy being emitted at this temperature giving it the blue-white hue that is a characteristic of a B-type star. It is rotating rapidly with a

projected rotational velocity Stellar rotation is the angular motion of a star about its axis. The rate of rotation can be measured from the spectrum of the star, or by timing the movements of active features on the surface. The rotation of a star produces an equatorial bulge ...

of 190 km s⁻¹, which gives a lower bound for the actual

azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematicall ...

al velocity along the star's equator. This is most probably a

binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in ...

and may be a triple star system. It has an optical companion with an apparent magnitude of +6.17 at an angular separation of 0.330

arcsecond A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...

s and a

position angle In astronomy, position angle (usually abbreviated PA) is the convention for measuring angles on the sky. The International Astronomical Union defines it as the angle measured relative to the north celestial pole (NCP), turning positive into the ...

of 221°, but it is uncertain whether this is an optical double star or a gravitationally bound companion. The star has also been categorized as a spectroscopic binary, indicating that it has an orbiting companion that has not been separately resolved with a telescope. Finally, this star may be a member of the

Melotte 20 The Alpha Persei Cluster, also known as Melotte 20 or Collinder 39, is an open cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Perseus. To the naked eye, the cluster consists of several blue-hued spectral type B stars. The most luminous member ...

open cluster An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, and ...

, which would make it the second-brightest member after Mirfak. Observation with 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 ...

shows an extended, ring-like feature that may be a bow wave driven by

radiation pressure Radiation pressure is the mechanical pressure exerted upon any surface due to the exchange of momentum between the object and the electromagnetic field. This includes the momentum of light or electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength that is a ...

from the star, rather than a bubble being generated by the

stellar wind A stellar wind is a flow of gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric. ...

. This feature has an

angular size The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular distance describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the visual angle, and in optics, it i ...

of 15 × 25

arcminute A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...

s and a peak temperature of 38 K. It has an estimated

peculiar velocity Peculiar motion or peculiar velocity refers to the velocity of an object relative to a '' rest frame'' — usually a frame in which the average velocity of some objects is zero. Galactic astronomy In galactic astronomy, peculiar motion refers ...

of more than 30 km s⁻¹, making it a runaway star.

Name and etymology

*This star, together with ψ Per, σ Per, α Per, γ Per and η Per, has been called ''the Segment of Perseus''. *In Chinese, (), meaning '' Celestial Boat'', refers to an asterism consisting of δ Persei, η Persei, α Persei, γ Persei, ψ Persei,

48 Persei 48 Persei (also known as c Persei, 48 Per, HR 1273, HIP 19343, or ) is a Be star in the constellation Perseus, approximately the 500th brightest of the visible stars in apparent magnitude. It is "well known for its complex spectrum and ...

μ Persei Mu Persei, Latinised from μ Persei, is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Perseus. It is visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of +4.16. The distance to thi ...

and HD 27084. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are oft ...

for δ Persei itself is (, en, the Fifth Star of Celestial Boat.)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 11 日
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delta Persei B-type giants Binary stars Runaway stars Alpha Persei Cluster Perseus (constellation) Persei, Delta BD+47 0876 Persei, 39 022928 017358 1122