Delta Persei (Delta Per, δ Persei, δ Per) is a

double star 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 ...

in the northern

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.01, making it readily visible with the naked eye.

Parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different sightline, lines of sight and is measured by the angle or half-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to perspective (graphica ...

measurements give it a distance of about from the Earth. The

spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

of this star matches a

stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction gratin ...

of B5 III, which indicates it is a giant star that has

evolved Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

away from the

main sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a classification of stars which appear on plots of stellar color index, color versus absolute magnitude, brightness as a continuous and distinctive band. Stars on this band are known as main-sequence stars or d ...

after exhausting the hydrogen at its core. It has about seven times the Sun's mass and has an estimated age of 6.8 million years. The

effective temperature The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surface 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 bu ...

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

azimuth An azimuth (; from ) is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north, in a local or observer-centric spherical coordinate system. Mathematically, the relative position vector from an observer ( origin) to a point ...

al velocity along the star's equator. This is most probably a

binary star A binary star or binary star system 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 as separate stars us ...

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

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

s 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 Celestial pole, north celestial pole (NCP), turning pos ...

of 221°, but it is uncertain whether this is an optical double 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 tens 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, and ...

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

IRAS The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a astronomical survey, survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 Janu ...

shows an extended, ring-like feature that may be a bow wave driven by radiation pressure from the star, rather than a bubble being generated by the

stellar wind A stellar wind is a flow of gas ejected from the stellar atmosphere, upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spheri ...

. This feature has an angular size of 15 × 25

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

s and a peak temperature of 38 K. It has an estimated peculiar velocity of more than 30 km s⁻¹, making it a runaway star.

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, (), meaning '' Celestial Boat'', refers to an asterism consisting of δ Persei, η Persei, α Persei, γ Persei, ψ Persei,

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 HD may refer to: Business * H-D or Harley-Davidson, a motorcycle manufacturer * The Home Depot, NYSE stock symbol: HD Chemistry * Hydrogen deuteride, a diatomic compound of hydrogen and deuterium * Mustard gas Codes * Air Do, formerly H ...

. Consequently, the Chinese name for δ Persei itself is (, .)AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 11 日

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