| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Perseus |
| Right ascension | 04h 18m 14.61690s [1] |
| Declination | +50° 17′ 43.8058″ [1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.52 - 4.68 [2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | A1III [3] |
| B−V color index | +0.04 [4] |
| Variable type | Ellipsoidal [2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 19.8±0.9 [5] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: 45.42±0.40 [1] mas/yr Dec.: −56.72±0.32 [1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 10.40±0.35 mas [1] |
| Distance | 310 ± 10 ly (96 ± 3 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | 0.3 [6] |
| Orbit [7] | |
| Primary | A or Aa |
| Companion | B or Ab |
| Period (P) | 1.52735997±0.00000036 days |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.0 |
| Inclination (i) | 22±3 or 55±3 [6] ° |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2450001.0931±0.003 |
| Orbit [8] | |
| Primary | AB |
| Companion | C or Ac |
| Period (P) | 703.06±0.07 days |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 26.22±0.06 mas |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.185±0.003 |
| Inclination (i) | 90.5±0.1° |
| Longitude of the node (Ω) | 120.0±0.1° |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2440080±3 |
| Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 212±1° |
| Details | |
| A or Aa | |
| Mass | 2.25 [6] M☉ |
| Radius | 3.2 [9] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 59 [6] L☉ |
| Temperature | 9,000 [6] K |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 81 [10] km/s |
| B or Ab | |
| Mass | 0.56 [11] M☉ |
| Radius | 0.25 [9] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 4.5 - 5.9 [6] L☉ |
| Temperature | 6,700 [6] K |
| C or Ac | |
| Mass | 1.24 [11] M☉ |
| Luminosity | 2 [12] L☉ |
| Other designations | |
| BD+49°1150, GC 5174, HD 26961, HR 1324, HIP 20070, SAO 24531 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
b Persei (also known as HD 26961) is a spectroscopic triple star in the constellation Perseus. Its apparent magnitude is 4.60, making it visible to the naked eye. [6] It is about 320 light years away. [1]
In addition to the primary, an A-type giant, there is a smaller and cooler companion in a 1.53 day orbit, probably an F-class star around absolute magnitude 3.0, and a more distant companion (star C or Ac) in an orbit calculated to be 702 days long. [6] The close binary pair forms a rotating ellipsoidal variable with a 1.53 day period. Star C forms an Algol-type variable system with the close binary, showing both primary eclipses (when star C passes in front of the inner pair) and secondary eclipses (when the inner pair passes in front of star C). [13] Timings of the eclipses show a 704.5-day period. [12]