HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

T Centauri is a
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 ...
located in the far southern constellation
Centaurus Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. ...
.SIMBAD
T Centauri
(accessed 22 July 2014)
It varies between magnitudes 5.56 and 8.44 over 181.4 days, making it intermittently visible to the naked eye. Pulsating between spectral classes K0:e and M4II:e, it has been classed as a
semiregular variable In astronomy, a semiregular variable star, a type of variable star, is a giant or supergiant of intermediate and late (cooler) spectral type showing considerable periodicity in its light changes, accompanied or sometimes interrupted by various irre ...
, though Sebastian Otero of the
American Association of Variable Star Observers The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization, founded in 1911, focused on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers. ...
has noted its curve more aligned with
RV Tauri variable RV Tauri variables are luminous variable stars that have distinctive light variations with alternating deep and shallow minima. History and discovery German astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander monitored the distinctive variations in brightne ...
stars and has classified it as one.


References

Centaurus (constellation) Semiregular variable stars Centauri, T Durchmusterung objects 119090 066825 K-type giants 5147 M-type bright giants Asymptotic-giant-branch stars RV Tauri variables {{var-star-stub