36 Ophiuchi (or Guniibuu for A) is a triple
star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...
19.5
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s from
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. It is in the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus () is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. The serpent is represented by the constella ...
.
The primary and secondary stars (also known as HD 155886) are nearly identical orange
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 Hert ...
dwarfs of
spectral type
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...
K2/K1. This binary is unusual because its eruptions do not seem to conform to the Waldmeier effect; that is, the strongest eruptions of HD 155886 are not the ones characterized by the fast eruption onset.
The tertiary star is an orange main-sequence dwarf of
spectral type
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...
K5.
Star C is separated from the A-B pair by 700
arcseconds
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 ...
, compared to a minimum of 4.6 arcseconds for A-B, so its effect on the movements of the A-B pair is small. A and B have active
chromosphere
A chromosphere ("sphere of color") is the second layer of a star's atmosphere, located above the photosphere and below the solar transition region and corona. The term usually refers to the Sun's chromosphere, but not exclusively.
In the Su ...
s.
At present the distance between the stars forming the AB-pair is 5.1 arcseconds and the position angle is 139 degrees, while star C is 731.6 arcseconds away from the A-component and situated at a position angle of 74 degrees.
Nomenclature
In the beliefs of the
Kamilaroi
The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...
and
Euahlayi
The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales.
Name and language
The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...
Aboriginal peoples in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia, the star A is called ''Guniibuu'' that represents the robin red-breast bird (''Petroica boodang''). In 2016, the
IAU
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, outreach ...
organized a
Working Group on Star Names
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016 to catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. It operates under Division C – Education ...
(WGSN)
to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name ''Guniibuu'' for the star A on 10 August 2018 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.
Hunt for substellar objects
The
McDonald Observatory
McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facil ...
team has set limits to the presence of one or more planets
around 36 Ophiuchi A with masses between 0.13 and 5.4
Jupiter mass
Jupiter mass, also called Jovian mass, is the unit of mass equal to the total mass of the planet Jupiter. This value may refer to the mass of the planet alone, or the mass of the entire Jovian system to include the moons of Jupiter. Jupiter is b ...
es and average separations spanning between 0.05 and 5.2
astronomical unit
The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits t ...
s (AU), although beyond 1.5 AU orbits are inherently unstable around either 36 Ophiuchi A or 36 Ophiuchi B.
[Irwin ''et al.'' (1996).]
The star C (or namely HD 156026) is among five nearby paradigms as
K-type star
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 the ...
s of a type in a 'sweet spot’ between Sun-analog stars and
M stars for the likelihood of evolved life, per analysis of Giada Arney from
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...
.
[
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Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
* https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0604171
{{DEFAULTSORT:36 Ophiuchi
Ophiuchus (constellation)
Triple star systems
Ophiuchi, 36
K-type main-sequence stars
Ophiuchi, 36
6401 2
155885 5886 6026
084405 78
CD-26 12026
Ophiuchi, A
RS Canum Venaticorum variables
0663 4
Ophiuchi, V2215