SX Arietis variables are a class of

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 ...

s. They are generally

B-type main sequence star A B-type main-sequence star (B V) is a main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) star of spectral type B and luminosity class V. These stars have from 2 to 16 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 10,000 and 30,000 K. B-type stars ...

s of spectral types B0p to B9p— high-temperature analogues of

Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variable An Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variable (or α2 CVn variable) is a type of variable star. These stars are chemically peculiar star, chemically peculiar main sequence stars of stellar classification, spectral class B8p to A7p. They have strong magne ...

s—and exhibit strong

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

s and intense He I and Si III

spectral lines A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to ident ...

. They have brightness fluctuations of approximately 0.1 magnitudes with periods of about one day. The prototype of this class is 56 Arietis, which bears the

variable star designation In astronomy, a variable star designation is a unique identifier given to variable stars. It uses a variation on the Bayer designation format, with an identifying label (as described below) preceding the Latin genitive of the name of the constell ...

''SX Arietis''.

List

The following list contains selected SX Arietis variable that are of interest to amateur or professional astronomy. Unless otherwise noted, the given magnitudes are in the V-band.

Notes

References

Samus N.N., Durlevich O.V., et al. ''Combined General Catalog of Variable Stars (GCVS4.2, 2004 Ed.)'' {{Variable star topics *