Rho Centauri is a binary star[13] system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ρ Centauri, and abbreviated Rho Cen or ρ Cen. This star is visible to the naked eye as a blue-white hued point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of +3.97.[1] The system is located approximately 276 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of around +15 km/s.[5] It is a proper motion member of the Lower Centaurus–Crux sub-group in the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association, the nearest such association of co-moving massive stars to the Sun.[3]
The primary component of this system is a B-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of B3 V.[3] It is about 24[11] million years old with a high rate of spin, showing a projected rotational velocity of 147 km/s.[10] It has 5.4[7] times the mass of the Sun and 3.8[8] times the Sun's radius. The star is radiating 810[1] times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 19,500 K.[9]
The secondary companion is 1.1 magnitudes fainter than the primary, with a projected separation of 5.68 AU along a position angle of 19.72°, as of 2013.[13] It revolves around the primary star in 3.6 years, on an ecccentric orbit.[6] The mass is estimated at 3.6 times that of the Sun, or 66% that of the primary.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012), "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation", Astronomy Letters, 38 (5): 331, arXiv:1108.4971, Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A, doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015. XHIP record for this object at VizieR.
- ^ a b c d Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023), "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 674: A1, arXiv:2208.00211, Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940, S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
- ^ a b c de Geus, E. J.; et al. (June 1989), "Physical parameters of stars in the Scorpio-Centaurus OB association", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 216 (1–2): 44–61, Bibcode:1989A&A...216...44D
- ^ Gutierrez-Moreno, Adelina; Moreno, Hugo (June 1968), "A photometric investigation of the Scorpio-Centaurus association", Astrophysical Journal Supplement, 15: 459, Bibcode:1968ApJS...15..459G, doi:10.1086/190168.
- ^ a b Gontcharov, G. A. (November 2006), "Pulkovo Compilation of Radial Velocities for 35495 Hipparcos stars in a common system", Astronomy Letters, 32 (11): 759–771, arXiv:1606.08053, Bibcode:2006AstL...32..759G, doi:10.1134/S1063773706110065, S2CID 119231169.
- ^ a b Mason, Brian D.; et al. (October 2023), "Speckle Interferometry at SOAR in 2022", The Astronomical Journal, 166 (4): 139, arXiv:2405.10071, Bibcode:2023AJ....166..139M, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/acedaf.
- ^ a b c d Gratton, R.; et al. (October 2023), "Multiples among B stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus association", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 678: A93, arXiv:2308.09962, Bibcode:2023A&A...678A..93G, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346806. Vizier catalog entry
- ^ a b Pasinetti Fracassini, L. E.; et al. (February 2001), "Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 367 (2): 521–524, arXiv:astro-ph/0012289, Bibcode:2001A&A...367..521P, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20000451, S2CID 425754.
- ^ a b c Levenhagen, R. S.; Leister, N. V. (2006), "Spectroscopic analysis of southern B and Be stars", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 371 (1): 252–262, arXiv:astro-ph/0606149, Bibcode:2006MNRAS.371..252L, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10655.x, S2CID 16492030.
- ^ a b Uesugi, Akira; Fukuda, Ichiro (1970), "Catalogue of rotational velocities of the stars", Contributions from the Institute of Astrophysics and Kwasan Observatory, University of Kyoto, Bibcode:1970crvs.book.....U.
- ^ a b Tetzlaff, N.; et al. (January 2011), "A catalogue of young runaway Hipparcos stars within 3 kpc from the Sun", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 410 (1): 190–200, arXiv:1007.4883, Bibcode:2011MNRAS.410..190T, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17434.x, S2CID 118629873
- ^ "rho Cen", SIMBAD, Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg, retrieved 2019-10-10.
- ^ a b Rizzuto, A. C.; et al. (December 2013), "Long-baseline interferometric multiplicity survey of the Sco-Cen OB association", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 436 (2): 1694–1707, arXiv:1309.3811, Bibcode:2013MNRAS.436.1694R, doi:10.1093/mnras/stt1690.
