DX Cancri

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DX Cancri
Cancer constellation map.svg
Red pog.png
DX
Location of DX Cancri in the constellation Cancer

Observation data
Epoch J2000       Equinox J2000
Constellation Cancer
Right ascension 08h 29m 49.35279s [1]
Declination +26° 46 33.6241 [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)14.81 [2]
Characteristics
Spectral type M6.5V [3]
Apparent magnitude  (J)8.2 [2]
U−B color index +2.11 [4]
B−V color index +2.08 [4]
Variable type Flare star [2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)+9.0 [5] km/s
Proper motion (μ)RA: −1,113.694 mas/yr [1]
Dec.: −612.191 mas/yr [1]
Parallax (π)279.2496±0.0637  mas [1]
Distance 11.680 ± 0.003  ly
(3.5810 ± 0.0008  pc)
Absolute magnitude  (MV)16.98 [6]
Details
Mass 0.106±0.009 [7]   M
Radius 0.1235±0.0006 [7]   R
Luminosity 0.00073±0.000007 [7]   L
Surface gravity (log g)~5 [7]   cgs
Temperature 2,840 [8]   K
Rotation 0.46 days [9]
Rotational velocity (v sin i)11.0 [10]  km/s
Age 200 [11]   Myr
Other designations
G  051-015, GCTP  2016.01, GJ  1111, LHS  248 [2]
Database references
SIMBAD data
DXCncLightCurve.png
An ultraviolet band light curve for a flare on DX Cancri, adapted from Pettersen (1981) [12]

DX Cancri is a red dwarf star in the northern zodiac constellation of Cancer. It is the 18th closest star (or star system) to the Sun, at a distance of 11.680 light-years (3.581 parsecs ) as determined by its parallax. It is also the nearest star in Cancer. [13] Despite this, the star has less than 1% of the Sun's luminosity [7] and, with an apparent visual magnitude of 14.81, [2] is far too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Visually viewing this star requires a telescope with a minimum aperture of 16 in (41 cm). [14]

Contents

In 1981, Bjørn Ragnvald Pettersen discovered that the star, then called G 51-15, is a variable star. [15] It was given its variable star designation, DX Cancri, in 1985. [16] It is a flare star that has unpredictable, intermittent increases in brightness by up to a factor of five.

The star has a stellar classification of M6.5V, [3] identifying it as a type of main sequence star known as a red dwarf. Such stars are characterized by their high abundance in the universe, low mass, radius, faint brightness and reddish color. [17] It has about 10% of the mass of the Sun, and 12% of the Sun's radius. [7] The outer envelope of the star has an effective temperature of 2,840 K. [8]

It is a proposed member of the Castor Moving Group of stars that share a common trajectory through space. This group has an estimated age of 200 million years. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv: 2208.00211 . Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202243940 . S2CID   244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "V* DX Cnc -- Flare Star". SIMBAD. Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  3. 1 2 Luhman, Kevin L.; Allers, Katelyn N.; Jaffe, Daniel T.; Cushing, Michael C.; Williams, Kurtis A.; Slesnick, Catherine L.; Vacca, William D. (April 2007), "Ophiuchus 1622-2405: Not a Planetary-Mass Binary", The Astrophysical Journal , 659 (2): 1629–1636, arXiv: astro-ph/0701242 , Bibcode:2007ApJ...659.1629L, doi:10.1086/512539, S2CID   11153196
  4. 1 2 Weistrop, D. (August 1981). "The nature of the Giclas +4 stars". Astronomical Journal. 86: 1220–1227. Bibcode:1981AJ.....86.1220W. doi:10.1086/113001.
  5. Montes, D.; et al. (November 2001). "Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups - I. Single stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 328 (1): 45–63. arXiv: astro-ph/0106537 . Bibcode:2001MNRAS.328...45M. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04781.x . S2CID   55727428.
  6. "The One Hundred Nearest Star Systems". RECONS. Georgia State University. January 1, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cifuentes, C.; Caballero, J. A.; Cortés-Contreras, M.; Montes, D.; Abellán, F. J.; Dorda, R.; Holgado, G.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Morales, J. C.; Amado, P. J.; Passegger, V. M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Reiners, A.; Ribas, I.; Sanz-Forcada, J. (2020-10-01). "CARMENES input catalogue of M dwarfs. V. Luminosities, colours, and spectral energy distributions". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 642: A115. arXiv: 2007.15077 . Bibcode:2020A&A...642A.115C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038295. ISSN   0004-6361.
  8. 1 2 Reiners, Ansgar; Basri, Gibor (February 2007). "The First Direct Measurements of Surface Magnetic Fields on Very Low Mass Stars". The Astrophysical Journal. 656 (2): 1121–1135. arXiv: astro-ph/0610365 . Bibcode:2007ApJ...656.1121R. doi:10.1086/510304. S2CID   17743657.
  9. Morin, J.; et al. (October 2010). "Large-scale magnetic topologies of late M dwarfs". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 407 (4): 2269–2286. arXiv: 1005.5552 . Bibcode:2010MNRAS.407.2269M. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17101.x . S2CID   119192200.
  10. Jenkins, J. S.; et al. (October 2009). "Rotational Velocities for M Dwarfs". The Astrophysical Journal. 704 (2): 975–988. arXiv: 0908.4092 . Bibcode:2009ApJ...704..975J. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/704/2/975. S2CID   119203469.
  11. Lestrade, J.-F.; et al. (November 2009). "Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs. II". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 506 (3): 1455–1467. arXiv: 0907.4782 . Bibcode:2009A&A...506.1455L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912306. S2CID   17035185.
  12. Pettersen, B. R. (February 1981). "Discovery of flare activity on the very low luminosity red dwarf G 51-15". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 95: 135–137. Bibcode:1981A&A....95..135P . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  13. Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Marocco, Federico; Gelino, Christopher R.; Raghu, Yadukrishna; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella C.; Schurr, Steven D.; Apps, Kevin; Schneider, Adam C.; Meisner, Aaron M.; Kuchner, Marc J.; Caselden, Dan; Smart, R. L.; Casewell, S. L.; Raddi, Roberto (2024-04-01). "The Initial Mass Function Based on the Full-sky 20 pc Census of ∼3600 Stars and Brown Dwarfs". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 271 (2): 55. arXiv: 2312.03639 . Bibcode:2024ApJS..271...55K. doi: 10.3847/1538-4365/ad24e2 . ISSN   0067-0049.
  14. Sherrod, P. Clay; Koed, Thomas L. (2003). A Complete Manual of Amateur Astronomy: Tools and Techniques for Astronomical Observations. Astronomy Series. Courier Dover Publications. p. 9. ISBN   0486428206.
  15. Pettersen, B. R. (February 1981). "Discovery of flare activity on the very low luminosity red dwarf G 51-15". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 95: 135–137. Bibcode:1981A&A....95..135P . Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  16. Kholopov, P. N.; Samus, N. N.; Kazarovets, E. V.; Perova, N. B. (March 1985). "The 67th Name-List of Variable Stars" (PDF). Information Bulletin on Variable Stars. 2681: 1–32. Bibcode:1985IBVS.2681....1K . Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  17. Gregsen, Eric. "Red dwarf star". Britannica .
  18. Lestrade, J.-F.; et al. (December 2006). "Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 460 (3): 733–741. arXiv: astro-ph/0609574 . Bibcode:2006A&A...460..733L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065873. S2CID   119328045.

Further reading