Gamma Crateris
Binary star divisible with a small amateur telescope.
Gamma Crateris, also known by its Bayer designation, is a binary star system at the heart of the southern constellation Crater. A small amateur telescope can split the pair. To the naked eye, it appears as a single 4.06-magnitude star. Parallax measurements place it 86.5 light-years from our Sun. Its space motion suggests it may belong to the Castor Moving Group.
Quick Facts
- Apparent visual magnitude
- 4.06
- Distance from sun
- 86.5 ly
- Primary spectral type
- A9 V
- Primary age
- 757 million years
- Primary projected rotational velocity
- 144 km/s
Facts from the source article.
Properties
Gamma Crateris is a binary star system. Its primary component, a white A-type main sequence star classified as A9 V, has about 1.8 times the Sun's mass and roughly twice its radius. At an estimated 757 million years old, it rotates quickly, with a projected rotational velocity of 144 km/s. This star shines with 18.8 times the Sun's luminosity from its photosphere. An infrared excess suggests it might have a debris disk, but this is not certain. Gabriel Cristian Neagu and Jan Ovidiu Tercu confirmed it as a Delta Scuti variable, showing brightness changes of 0.001 magnitude with a main period of 0.03647 days, or about 52.52 minutes. The companion, component B, is a magnitude 9.6 star with roughly 75% of the Sun's mass. As of 2010, it lay at an angular separation of 4.98 arc seconds and a position angle of 93.1 degrees from the primary, corresponding to a projected separation. This companion may be responsible for the X-ray emission detected from the system.
More in Bright Stars by Bayer Designation: Binary and Multiple Stars
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced