V4046 Sagittarii is a young binary consisting of two
K-type main-sequence star
A K-type main-sequence star, also referred to as a K-type dwarf or an orange dwarf, is a main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) star of spectral type K and luminosity class V. These stars are intermediate in size between red M-type main-sequence star ...
s. The two stars are about 271 light-years (83 parsecs) away from the Earth.
[ The two stars orbit each other every 2.42 days on a circular orbit.][
V4046 Sagittarii is surrounded by a massive ]protoplanetary disk
A protoplanetary disk is a rotating circumstellar disc of dense gas and dust surrounding a young newly formed star, a T Tauri star, or Herbig Ae/Be star. The protoplanetary disk may also be considered an accretion disk for the star itself, be ...
. The disk has a radius of about 370 astronomical unit
The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits ...
s (au) with about 40 Earth masses of dust in the disk. There are two bright inner rings at 14 and 25 au from the center, respectively.TW Hydrae
TW Hydrae is a T Tauri star approximately 196 light-years away in the constellation of Hydra (the Sea Serpent). TW Hydrae is about 80% of the mass of the Sun, but is only about 5-10 million years old. The star appears to be accreting fr ...
, HD 141569, and 49 Ceti. The two stars are still accreting matter from the disk, and gas giant
A gas giant is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Gas giants are also called failed stars because they contain the same basic elements as a star. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants of the Solar System. The term "gas giant" ...
planets may be forming in the disk as well.[
The red dwarf GSC 07396-00759 is separated about 2.82 from V4046 Sagittarii. Since it has a similar motion throughout space with V4046 Sagittarii, GSC 07396-00759 is assumed to be gravitationally bound (although weakly) to V4046 Sagittarii. The two systems are separated by at least 12,350 ]astronomical unit
The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits ...
s () away, and the orbital period would be on the order of 100,000 years.[
]
See also
* UX Tauri
UX Tauri, abbreviated as UX Tau, is a binary star system approximately 450 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus (constellation), Taurus (the Bull). It is notable for the fact that, despite its recent (in stellar terms) planeta ...
* HD 98800
HD 98800, also catalogued as TV Crateris (TV Crt), is a quadruple star system in the constellation of Crater (the cup). Parallax measurements made by the Hipparcos spacecraft put it at a distance of about 150 light-years (45 pars ...
* T Tauri
T Tauri is a variable star in the constellation Taurus, the prototype of the T Tauri stars. It was discovered in October 1852 by John Russell Hind. T Tauri appears from Earth amongst the Hyades cluster, not far from ε Tauri, but i ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:V4046 Sagittarii
T Tauri stars
Sagittarius (constellation)
Hypothetical planetary systems
K-type main-sequence stars
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Sagittarii, V4046
Spectroscopic binaries
Durchmusterung objects