Omicron Puppis
Candidate binary system with a Be star and hot subdwarf.
Omicron Puppis is a suspected binary star in the southern constellation Puppis, visible to the naked eye at magnitude +4.48. About 1,400 light-years away, it is a close spectroscopic pair. Its spectrum varies every 28.9 days, possibly a Be star with a hot subdwarf companion. It is slightly variable, ranging from magnitude 4.43 to 4.46.
Quick Facts
- Apparent visual magnitude
- +4.48
- Parallax
- 2.30 mas
- Distance
- roughly 1,400 light years
- Variability magnitude range
- 4.43 - 4.46
- Spectroscopic period
- 28.9 days
Facts from the source article.
Naming
The correct Bayer designation for ο Puppis has been debated. Lacaille assigned one Greek letter sequence for the bright stars of Argo Navis, and these designations are now shared across Carina, Puppis, and Vela, so that except for omicron each Greek letter appears in only one of the three. Omicron is now commonly used for two stars, one each in Vela and Puppis. In the Coelum Australe Stelliferum, this star is labelled o Argus in puppi, while ο Velorum is labelled ο Argus. Some later authors state the reverse, that Lacaille assigned omicron to ο Puppis and Latin lower case 'o' to ο Velorum. Modern catalogs and atlases generally use omicron for both stars. In Chinese, Bow and Arrow refers to an asterism consisting of ο Puppis, δ Canis Majoris, η Canis Majoris, HD 63032, HD 65456, k Puppis, ε Canis Majoris, κ Canis Majoris and π Puppis. Consequently, ο Puppis itself is known as the first star of Bow and Arrow.
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