R Andromedae (R And) is a

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a va ...

-type

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 the constellation

Andromeda Andromeda most commonly refers to: * Andromeda (mythology), a princess from Greek mythology * Andromeda (constellation), a region of the Earth's night sky * The Andromeda Galaxy, an astronomical object within the constellation Andromeda may also ...

. Its

spectral class 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 th ...

is type S because it shows absorption bands of

zirconium monoxide Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...

(ZrO) in its spectrum. It was among the stars found by

Paul Merrill Paul Willard Merrill (August 15, 1887 – July 19, 1961) was an American astronomer whose specialty was spectroscopy. He was the first to define S-type stars in 1922. Career He received his Ph.D. at the University of California (now UC Berkeley) ...

to show

absorption lines A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identif ...

of the unstable element

technetium Technetium is a chemical element with the symbol Tc and atomic number 43. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. All available technetium is produced as a synthetic element. Naturally occurring technetium is a spontaneous ...

, establishing that

nucleosynthesis Nucleosynthesis is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons (protons and neutrons) and nuclei. According to current theories, the first nuclei were formed a few minutes after the Big Bang, through nuclear reactions in ...

must be occurring in stars. The SH molecule was found for the first time outside earth in the atmosphere of this star. The star is losing mass due to stellar winds at a rate of 1.09 /yr.

Variability

R Andromedae shows periodic variations in its brightness approximately every 409 days. The maximum brightness is not the same every cycle and can reach a peak

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 ...

of m_v = 5.8, with the lowest known minima nearly 10 magnitudes fainter. The rise to maximum brightness is approximately twice as fast as the fall to minimum brightness. It is classified as a

Mira variable Mira variables (named for the prototype star Mira) are a class of pulsating stars characterized by very red colours, pulsation periods longer than 100 days, and amplitudes greater than one magnitude in infrared and 2.5 magnitude at visual wave ...

. Those stars contract and expand regularly, changing size and temperature, and this causes the brightness variations.

Properties

R Andromedae has a spectral type that varies as its brightness changes. At a typical maximum it is assigned a spectral type of S5/4.5e. This makes it an

S-type star An S-type star (or just S star) is a cool giant with approximately equal quantities of carbon and oxygen in its atmosphere. The class was originally defined in 1922 by Paul Merrill for stars with unusual absorption lines and molecular bands now ...

, a red giant similar to class M stars but with unusually strong molecular bands of ZrO in its spectrum compared to the

titanium oxide Titanium oxide may refer to: * Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), o ...

(TiO) bands seen in other cool giants. S stars are intermediate between

carbon star A carbon star (C-type star) is typically an asymptotic giant branch star, a luminous red giant, whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen. The two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes mo ...

s and the more typical oxygen-rich giants. The S5 indicates its relative temperature, while the number after the slash is a measure of the relative C:O ratio, 4.5 meaning carbon is about 97% as abundant as oxygen. ZrO bands in R Andromedae are about twenty times stronger than those of TiO. When it is fainter, the spectral type has been classified as late as S8,8e. On this older classification system for S stars, the number after the comma is an indication of the relative strength of ZrO and TiO bands which used to be considered to show the C:O ratio. R Andromedae, like all Mira variables, is an

asymptotic giant branch The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) is a region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram populated by evolved cool luminous stars. This is a period of stellar evolution undertaken by all low- to intermediate-mass stars (about 0.5 to 8 solar masses) lat ...

star, one that has exhausted its core helium and is burning it in a shell outside the core and hydrogen in a shell closer to the surface. These stars undergo

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, ...

events which cause convection of fusion products to the surface and anomalies such as enhanced carbon and zirconium. Asymptotic giant branch stars are very cool and luminous red giants; R Andromedae varies in temperature and luminosity but is typically about 2,500 K and . The angular diameter of R Andromedae has been measured at and on different dates, corresponding to radii of and respectively, assuming a distance of .

References

External links

*
Image R Andromedae

x.astrogeek.org/

chart R Andromedae

phobos.jb.man.ac.uk/
{{DEFAULTSORT:R Andromedae Andromeda (constellation) 001967 Mira variables S-type stars Andromedae, R 0090 001901 Emission-line stars Durchmusterung objects