Delta Persei (Delta Per, δ Persei, δ Per) is a double star in the northern constellation of Perseus. It has an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of 3.01, making it readily visible with the naked eye. Parallax measurements give it a distance of about from the Earth. The

spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

of this star matches a stellar classification of B5 III, which indicates it is a

giant star A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moore, New York: Oxford University Press ...

that has

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

away from the main sequence after exhausting the hydrogen at its core. It has about seven times the

Sun's mass The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass of ...

and has an estimated age of 6.8 million years. The effective temperature of the outer envelope is 14,890 K, with the energy being emitted at this temperature giving it the blue-white hue that is a characteristic of a B-type star. It is rotating rapidly with a

projected rotational velocity Stellar rotation is the angular motion of a star about its axis. The rate of rotation can be measured from the spectrum of the star, or by timing the movements of active features on the surface. The rotation of a star produces an equatorial bulg ...

of 190 km s⁻¹, which gives a lower bound for the actual

azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematical ...

al velocity along the star's equator. This is most probably a binary star and may be a triple star system. It has an optical companion with an apparent magnitude of +6.17 at an angular separation of 0.330 arcseconds and a

position angle In astronomy, position angle (usually abbreviated PA) is the convention for measuring angles on the sky. The International Astronomical Union defines it as the angle measured relative to the north celestial pole (NCP), turning positive into the ...

of 221°, but it is uncertain whether this is an

optical double In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...

star or a gravitationally bound companion. The star has also been categorized as a spectroscopic binary, indicating that it has an orbiting companion that has not been separately resolved with a telescope. Finally, this star may be a member of the Melotte 20

open cluster An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, an ...

, which would make it the second-brightest member after Mirfak. Observation with the

IRAS The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten mo ...

shows an extended, ring-like feature that may be a bow wave driven by

radiation pressure Radiation pressure is the mechanical pressure exerted upon any surface due to the exchange of momentum between the object and the electromagnetic field. This includes the momentum of light or electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength that is a ...

from the star, rather than a bubble being generated by the stellar wind. This feature has an

angular size The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular distance describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the visual angle, and in optics, it is ...

of 15 × 25

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

s and a peak temperature of 38 K. It has an estimated

peculiar velocity Peculiar motion or peculiar velocity refers to the velocity of an object relative to a ''rest frame'' — usually a frame in which the average velocity of some objects is zero. Galactic astronomy In galactic astronomy, peculiar motion refers to ...

of more than 30 km s⁻¹, making it a

runaway star In astronomy, stellar kinematics is the Observational astronomy, observational study or measurement of the kinematics or motions of stars through space. Stellar kinematics encompasses the measurement of stellar Velocity, velocities in the Milky W ...

Name and etymology

*This star, together with ψ Per, σ Per, α Per, γ Per and η Per, has been called ''the Segment of Perseus''. *In

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, (), meaning '' Celestial Boat'', refers to an asterism consisting of δ Persei,

η Persei Eta Persei (η Persei, abbreviated Eta Per, η Per), is a binary star and the 'A' component of a triple star system (the 'B' component is the star HD 237009) in the constellation of Perseus. It is approximately 1331 light-years awa ...

α Persei Alpha Persei ( Latinized from α Persei, abbreviated Alpha Per, α Per), formally named Mirfak (pronounced or ), is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Perseus, outshining the constellation's best-known sta ...

γ Persei Gamma Persei (Gamma Per, γ Persei, γ Per) is a binary star system in the constellation Perseus. The combined apparent visual magnitude of the pair is +2.9, making it the fourth-brightest member of the constellation. The ...

ψ Persei Psi Persei (Psi Per, ψ Persei, ψ Per) is a single Be star in the northern constellation of Perseus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of about 4.2, so it is visible to the naked eye at night under suitably dark skies. ...

48 Persei 48 Persei (also known as c Persei, 48 Per, HR 1273, HIP 19343, or ) is a Be star in the constellation Perseus, approximately the 500th brightest of the visible stars in apparent magnitude. It is "well known for its complex spectrum and ...

, μ Persei and HD 27084. Consequently, the

Chinese name Chinese names or Chinese personal names are names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Chinese-speaking world throughout East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). In addition, many names used in Japan, Korea and Vietnam are ofte ...

for δ Persei itself is (, en, the Fifth Star of Celestial Boat.)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 11 日
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delta Persei B-type giants Binary stars Runaway stars Alpha Persei Cluster Perseus (constellation) Persei, Delta BD+47 0876 Persei, 39 022928 017358 1122