U Equulei (U Equ / IRAS 20547 +0247) is a variable star in the Equuleus constellation with an apparent magnitude of +14.50 in the B band. It lies at an estimated distance of 5,000 light-years (1,500 parsecs) from the Solar System.

U Equulei

A visual band light curve for U Equulei, plotted from OMC data[1]
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Equuleus
Right ascension 20h 57m 16.28s[2]
Declination 02° 58′ 44.6″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 9 - 13[3]
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage (post?) AGB[4]
Spectral type G - K III[4]
B−V color index +1.6[4]
Variable type Lb[3]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)−75[5] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 10.490[6] mas/yr
Dec.: −10.433[6] mas/yr
Parallax (π)0.0985 ± 0.0750 mas[6]
Distance3,340±700[7] pc
Details
Luminosity6,000[7] L
Temperature5,005[6] K
Other designations
IRAS 20547+0247, 2MASS J20571628+0258445, Gaia DR2 1731164844433296128
Database references
SIMBADdata

Properties

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U Equulei is, or was, an OH/IR star, and strong OH and H2O masers have been observed. These vary to a greater extent than almost any other star observed, and it is possible that the stage of maser activity is essentially finished.[8]

Theoretical Planet

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Lionel Siess and Mario Livio suggested that the accretion of a giant planet towards the increasing red giant has made the star's outer layers rotate fast enough to cause an outpouring equatorial- or disk-expansion, responsible for the star's peculiar environment.[9] The spectroscopic study has indicated the star is surrounded by the dust shell, but shape of the shell cannot be measured due to large distance to the star.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "OMC Archive". OMC Archive. The Astronomical Data Centre at CAB. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b Cutri, Roc M.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Beichman, Charles A.; Carpenter, John M.; Chester, Thomas; Cambresy, Laurent; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Huchra, John P.; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Light, Robert M.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Stiening, Rae; Sykes, Matthew J.; Weinberg, Martin D.; Wheaton, William A.; Wheelock, Sherry L.; Zacarias, N. (2003). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: 2MASS All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources (Cutri+ 2003)". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues. 2246: II/246. Bibcode:2003yCat.2246....0C.
  3. ^ a b Geballe, T.R.; Barnbaum, C.; Noll, Keith S.; Morris, M. (September 2012). "Infrared Spectroscopy of U Equulei's Warm Circumstellar Gas". The Astrophysical Journal. 624 (2): 983–984. arXiv:astro-ph/0502154. Bibcode:2005ApJ...624..983G. doi:10.1086/429369. S2CID 14707061.
  4. ^ a b c Barnbaum, C.; Omont, A.; Morris, M. (1996). "The unusual circumstellar environment of the evolved star, U Equulei". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 310: 259. Bibcode:1996A&A...310..259B.
  5. ^ Kim, Jaeheon; Cho, Se-Hyung; Kim, Sang Joon (2013). "Simultaneous Observations of SiO and H2O Masers toward Known Stellar H2O Maser Sources". The Astronomical Journal. 145 (1): 22. Bibcode:2013AJ....145...22K. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/145/1/22. S2CID 121415544.
  6. ^ a b c d Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616. A1. arXiv:1804.09365. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  7. ^ a b Vickers, Shane B.; Frew, David J.; Parker, Quentin A.; Bojičić, Ivan S. (2015). "New light on Galactic post-asymptotic giant branch stars – I. First distance catalogue". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 447 (2): 1673–1691. arXiv:1403.7230. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.447.1673V. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu2383. S2CID 119245776.
  8. ^ Lewis, B. M. (2002). "On Dead OH/IR Stars". The Astrophysical Journal. 576 (1): 445–449. Bibcode:2002ApJ...576..445L. doi:10.1086/341534. S2CID 121803017.
  9. ^ Siess, Lionel; Mario Livio (October 1999). "The accretion of brown dwarfs and planets by giant stars – II. Solar-mass stars on the red giant branch". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 308 (4): 1133–1149. arXiv:astro-ph/9905235. Bibcode:1999MNRAS.308.1133S. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02784.x. S2CID 12893455.
  10. ^ Yung, Bosco H. K.; Nakashima, Jun-Ichi; Hsia, Chih-Hao; Imai, Hiroshi (2016). "Do Water Fountain Jets Really Indicate the Onset of the Morphological Metamorphosis of Circumstellar Envelopes". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 465 (4): 4482–4499. arXiv:1611.03306. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2931. S2CID 119058467.