S Antliae is a

W Ursae Majoris W Ursae Majoris (W UMa) is the variable star designation for a binary star system in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It has an apparent visual magnitude of about 7.9, which is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. However, i ...

-type

eclipsing binary A binary star or binary star system is a Star system, system of two stars that are gravity, 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 ...

star in

Antlia Antlia (; from Ancient Greek ''ἀντλία'') is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name means "pump" in Latin and Greek language, Greek; it represents an air pump. Originally Antlia Pneumatica, the constellation was es ...

Characteristics

S Antiliae is classed as an A-type W Ursae Majoris variable, since the primary is hotter than the secondary and the drop in magnitude is caused by the latter passing in front of the former. S Antiliae varies in apparent magnitude from 6.27 to 6.83 over a period of 15.6 hours. The system shines with a combined spectrum of A9V. The system's orbital period is about 0.591 days. The stars' centres are an average of 3.82 times the Sun's radius apart. The system will evolve into an

Algol variable Algol variables or Algol-type binaries are a class of eclipsing binary stars that are similar to the prototype member of this class, β Persei (Beta Persei, Algol). An Algol binary is a system where both stars are near-spherical such that ...

. Calculating the properties of the component stars indicates that the primary star has a mass 1.66 times and a diameter 2.09 times that of the Sun, and the secondary has a mass 0.55 times and a diameter 1.31 times that of the Sun. The primary has a surface temperature of 7,100K, while the secondary is a little cooler at 6,859K. The two stars have similar

luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic energy per unit time, and is synonymous with the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electroma ...

and

spectral type 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 ...

as they have a

common envelope In astronomy, a common envelope (CE) is gas that contains a binary star system. The gas does not rotate at the same rate as the embedded binary system. A system with such a configuration is said to be in a common envelope phase or undergoing comm ...

and share stellar material. The system is thought to be around two billion years old. Based upon an annual

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different sightline, lines of sight and is measured by the angle or half-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to perspective (graphica ...

shift of 12.6116 milli

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

s as measured by the Gaia satellite, this system is from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. Analysing and recalibrating yields a parallax of 13.30 and hence a distance of .

History

The star's variability was first recorded in 1888 by H.M. Paul, when it had the shortest known period of any variable star. It was initially thought to be an

Algol ALGOL (; short for "Algorithmic Language") is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in 1958. ALGOL heavily influenced many other languages and was the standard method for algorithm description used by the ...

-type eclipsing binary, but this was discounted by E.C. Pickering on account of it lacking a shallow minimum in its maximum and the width of its minimum period. Alfred H. Joy noted the similarity of its light curve to

in 1926, concluding the system was indeed an eclipsing binary with two stars of spectral type A8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:S Antliae Antlia 082610 W Ursae Majoris variables Antliae, S 3798 046810 Durchmusterung objects A-type main-sequence stars Antliae, 12