Epsilon Ceti
Epsilon Ceti, Latinized from ε Ceti, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system located in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.84.[2] Based upon an annual parallax shift of 14.58 mas,[1] it is located around 98 light-years away from the Sun.
Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
---|---|
Constellation | Cetus |
Right ascension | 02h 39m 33.82853s[1] |
Declination | −11° 52′ 19.7132″[1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | +4.84[2] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | F2V + F7/G4V[3] |
U−B color index | −0.02[2] |
B−V color index | +0.45[2] |
Astrometry | |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: +161.62[1] mas/yr Dec.: −230.53[1] mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | 35.1 ± 1.0 mas[1] |
Distance | 93 ± 3 ly (28.5 ± 0.8 pc) |
Absolute magnitude (MV) | +2.68[4] |
Orbit[3] | |
Period (P) | 2.6512±0.0005 yr |
Semi-major axis (a) | 0.1063±0.0005″ |
Eccentricity (e) | 0.230±0.001 |
Inclination (i) | 24.2±0.2° |
Longitude of the node (Ω) | 90.2±0.2° |
Periastron epoch (T) | 2,012.3109±0.0005 |
Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 40.8±0.2° |
Details | |
ε Cet A | |
Mass | 1.37±0.09[3] M☉ |
Luminosity | 7.17[4] L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 4.21±0.14[5] cgs |
Temperature | 6,537±222[5] K |
Metallicity [Fe/H] | −0.16±0.03[4] dex |
Age | 1.8[5] Gyr |
ε Cet B | |
Mass | 1.03±0.08[3] M☉ |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
This is a line-width spectroscopic binary star system. It has an orbital period of 2.65 years and an eccentricity of 0.23. The semimajor axis is 0.11 AU, or 11% of the distance between the Sun and the Earth, and the orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 24.2°.The primary member, component A, is an F-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of F2 V. The spectrum of the secondary, component B, can not be readily separated from that of the primary, so its type can only be estimated as a main-sequence star lying in the range between F7 V and G4 V.[3] The system is estimated to be 1.8 billion years old,[5] with the primary having 1.4 times the mass of the Sun and the secondary being about equal to the Sun's mass.[3]
Name
This star, along with π Cet, ρ Cet and σ Cet, was Al Sufi's Al Sadr al Ḳaiṭos, the Whale's Breast.[7]
According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, Al Sadr al Ḳaiṭos were the title for four stars: ρ Cet as Al Sadr al Ḳaiṭos I, σ Cet as Al Sadr al Ḳaiṭos II, this star (ε Cet) as Al Sadr al Ḳaiṭos III and π Cet as Al Sadr al Ḳaiṭos IV.[8]
In Chinese, 芻蒿 (Chú Hāo), meaning Hay, refers to an asterism consisting of ε Ceti, ρ Ceti, 77 Ceti, 67 Ceti, 71 Ceti and HD 14691.[9] Consequently, the Chinese name for ε Ceti itself is 芻蒿六 (Chú Hāo liù, English: the Sixth Star of Celestial Meadows).[10]
References
- van Leeuwen, F. (2007), "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 474 (2): 653–664, arXiv:0708.1752, Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357, S2CID 18759600.
- Mermilliod, J.-C. (1986), "Compilation of Eggen's UBV data, transformed to UBV (unpublished)", Catalogue of Eggen's UBV Data, SIMBAD, Bibcode:1986EgUBV........0M.
- Docobo, J. A.; Andrade, M. (2013), "Dynamical and physical properties of 22 binaries discovered by W. S. Finsen", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 428 (1): 321–339, Bibcode:2013MNRAS.428..321D, doi:10.1093/mnras/sts045.
- 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, S2CID 119257644.
- David, Trevor J.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A. (2015), "The Ages of Early-Type Stars: Strömgren Photometric Methods Calibrated, Validated, Tested, and Applied to Hosts and Prospective Hosts of Directly Imaged Exoplanets", The Astrophysical Journal, 804 (2): 146, arXiv:1501.03154, Bibcode:2015ApJ...804..146D, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/804/2/146, S2CID 33401607.
- "eps Cet". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Allen, R. H. (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Reprint ed.). New York: Dover Publications Inc. p. 162. ISBN 0-486-21079-0. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- Jack W. Rhoads - Technical Memorandum 33-507-A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; November 15, 1971
- (in Chinese) 夢之大地 @ 國立成功大學 WebBBS DreamLand @ National Cheng Kung University WebBBS System
- (in Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 12 日