An irregular variable is a type of
variable star
A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as e ...
in which variations in brightness show no regular
periodicity. There are two main sub-types of irregular variable: eruptive and pulsating.
Eruptive irregular variables are divided into three categories:
* Group I variables are split into subgroups IA (spectral types O to A) and IB (spectral types F through M).
*
Orion variables, GCVS type IN (irregular and nebulous), indigenous to star-forming regions, may vary by several magnitudes with rapid changes of up to 1 magnitude in 1 to 10 days, are similarly divided by spectral type into subgroups INA and INB, but with the addition of another subgroup, INT, for
T Tauri stars
T Tauri stars (TTS) are a class of variable stars that are less than about ten million years old. This class is named after the prototype, T Tauri, a young star in the Taurus star-forming region. They are found near molecular clouds and ide ...
, or INT(YY) for YY Orionis stars.
* The third category of eruptive irregulars are the IS stars, which show rapid variations of 0.5 to 1 magnitude in a few hours or days; again, these come in subgroups ISA and ISB.
Pulsating irregular giants or supergiants, called
slow irregular variables, are all of late spectral types (K, M, C, or S), and classed as type L-LB for giants and LC for supergiants. How many of these are actually semi-regular variables that simply need more study, remains unclear.
References
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