V357 Carinae (a Car, a Carinae) is an
astrometric
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way.
His ...
and
spectroscopic binary in the
constellation Carina
Carina may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura
Serbia
* Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District
...
. It is approximately 419
light years from
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. The mean
apparent 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 ...
of the system is +3.43.
Location
The star appears 46.0' (0.7668°)
ENE of
Iota Carinae
Iota Carinae (ι Carinae, abbreviated Iota Car, ι Car), officially named Aspidiske , is a star in the southern constellation of Carina. With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.2, it is one of the brighter stars in the night sky.
Appe ...
at the heart of the asterism and constellation which is skewed in having bulk of the stars away from the eastern,
Canopus
Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina and the second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also designated α Carinae, which is Latinised to Alpha Carinae. With a visual apparent magnitude ...
prow of the ship and close to the imagined sails of the ship,
Vela.
Variability
![V357CarLightCurve](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/V357CarLightCurve.png)
V357 Carinae is a probable
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 e ...
; its brightness varies from magnitude +3.41 to +3.44 with a period of 6.74 days, which is its
orbital period
The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...
. It was classified as an
eclipsing binary
A binary star is a system of two stars that are 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 using a telescope as separate stars, in w ...
in
Gaposchkin's original catalogue of variable stars,
[ although the variability was often considered doubtful.][ It is now thought most likely to be a very shallow eclipsing binary.][
]
System
V357 Carinae is an astrometric binary, meaning its motion in the sky implies orbital motion about an invisible companion. It is also a single-lined spectroscopic binary, and possibly a triple system.[ The two closest components orbit each other in 6.74 days, while the observed astrometric motion is much longer.][
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:V357 Carinae
Carinae, a
B-type subgiants
Carina (constellation)
Eclipsing binaries
Spectroscopic binaries
Carinae, V357
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3659
045080
Durchmusterung objects