V861 Scorpii
Blue supergiant and eclipsing binary in Scorpius.
V861 Scorpii is a blue supergiant star and eclipsing binary system in the constellation Scorpius, belonging to the open cluster Trumpler 24. It is classified as a Beta Lyrae-type variable star, with visual magnitude ranging from 6.07 to 6.40, making it faintly visible to the naked eye under optimal conditions.
Quick Facts
- Spectral type
- B0.5Iae or B2Iab/b
- Distance
- approximately 5,000 light-years (1,520 parsecs)
- Orbital period
- 7.848 days
- Visual magnitude range
- 6.07 to 6.40
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The system is located at a distance of approximately 5,000 light-years (1,520 parsecs) based on Gaia DR3 parallax measurements.
- Observations from 1977–1980 revealed potential short-period variations in radial velocity.
- Its membership in the Trumpler 24 cluster has aided in determining its distance and evolutionary context.
Binary System
V861 Scorpii is a spectroscopic binary system that completes an orbit every 7.848 days. Its primary star is a blue supergiant, but the secondary component's identity remains unclear. Initial research raised the possibility of a compact object like a black hole, based on a suspected link to the X-ray source OAO 1653-40. More recent observations, however, show that the X-ray emission varies and matches a typical supergiant spectrum, so the connection to a compact companion is not confirmed, and the X-ray source may be unrelated.
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