The visual band light curve of FO Aquarii. The main plot shows the dimming which occurred in 2016, and the inset plot shows the short-term variation that occurs during an orbital period. Adapted from Littlefield et al. (2016) [1] | |
Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Aquarius |
Right ascension | 22h 17m 55.38s [2] |
Declination | −08° 21′ 04.6″ [2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.7 [3] |
Characteristics | |
Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.70 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (R) | 13.60 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (J) | 12.87 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (H) | 12.75 [2] |
Apparent magnitude (K) | 12.51 [2] |
Variable type | DQ [4] |
Orbit | |
Period (P) | 4.85 hr [5] |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
Data sources: | |
Hipparcos Catalogue, CCDM (2002), Bright Star Catalogue (5th rev. ed.) |
FO Aquarii is an intermediate polar [4] star system in the constellation Aquarius. The white dwarf and companion star orbit each other with a period of approximately 4.85 hours. [5] The system is famous for a very strong optical pulsation which occurs every 20.9 minutes, corresponding with the rotational period of the accreting white dwarf. [6] Prior to 2016, the system's long-term optical brightness varied between apparent magnitude 12.7 and 14.2, [7] but in early 2016, it faded to magnitude 15.8 and thereafter began a slow recovery to its normal brightness, behavior which is indicative of a temporary dropoff in the mass-transfer rate between the two stars. [8]
A rogue planet is an interstellar object of planetary mass which is not gravitationally bound to any star or brown dwarf. Rogue planets originate from planetary systems in which they are formed and later ejected. They can also form on their own, outside a planetary system. The Milky Way alone may have billions to trillions of rogue planets, a range the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will likely be able to narrow down.
Zeta Aquarii is the Bayer designation for a triple star system, the central star of the "water jar" asterism in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. The combined apparent visual magnitude of this system is 3.65, which is readily visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements yield a distance estimate of around 92 light-years from Earth.
1 Aquarii is a binary star system in the zodiac constellation of Aquarius, about 257 light years away from the Sun. 1 Aquarii is the Flamsteed designation. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, orange-hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.151, located a degree north of the celestial equator. The system is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of −41 km/s.
108 Aquarii is a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. 108 Aquarii is the Flamsteed designation, although it also bears the Bayer designation i3 Aquarii and the variable star designation ET Aquarii. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.194 and can be seen with the naked eye under suitably dark skies. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 10.23, the distance to this star is 319 light-years.
94 Aquarii is a triple star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. 94 Aquarii is the Flamsteed designation. The brightest member has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.19, making it visible to the naked eye. The parallax measured by the Gaia spacecraft yields a distance estimate of around 73 light-years from Earth.
58 Aquarii, abbreviated 58 Aqr, is a star in the constellation of Aquarius. 58 Aquarii is its Flamsteed designation. It is a sixth magnitude star with an apparent visual magnitude of 6.39, which means it is a challenge to view with the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 13.4 mas, it is located 243 light years from the Sun. This has been identified as a visual binary system with an orbital period of 829.976 days in a circular orbit.
The Milky Way has several smaller galaxies gravitationally bound to it, as part of the Milky Way subgroup, which is part of the local galaxy cluster, the Local Group.
HD 4308 is a single star in the southern constellation of Tucana. It has a yellow hue and is a challenge to view with the naked eye even under good seeing conditions, having an apparent visual magnitude of 6.54. This object is located at a distance of 72 light years, as determined from parallax measurements. It is a population II star and is considered to be a member of the thick disk. The star is receding from the Sun with a radial velocity of +95 km/s.
Gliese 832 is a red dwarf of spectral type M2V in the southern constellation Grus. The apparent visual magnitude of 8.66 means that it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It is located relatively close to the Sun, at a distance of 16.2 light years and has a high proper motion of 818.16 milliarcseconds per year. Gliese 832 has just under half the mass and radius of the Sun. Its estimated rotation period is a relatively leisurely 46 days. The star is roughly 6 billion years old.
R Aquarii is a variable star in the constellation Aquarius.
XZ Tauri is a binary system approximately 460 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. The system consists of two T Tauri stars orbiting each other about 6 billion kilometers apart. The system made news in 2000 when a superflare was observed in the system.
HU Aquarii is an eclipsing binary system approximately 620 light-years away from the Sun, forming a cataclysmic variable of AM Herculis-type. The two stars orbit each other every 2.08 hours and the ultra-short binary system includes an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf.
Markarian 231 is a Type-1 Seyfert galaxy that was discovered in 1969 as part of a search of galaxies with strong ultraviolet radiation. It contains the nearest known quasar. Markarian 231 is located about 581 million light years away from Earth, in the constellation of Ursa Major.
VFTS 102 is a star located in the Tarantula nebula, a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
Gliese 163 is a faint red dwarf star with multiple exoplanetary companions in the southern constellation of Dorado. Other stellar catalog names for it include HIP 19394 and LHS 188. It is too faint to be visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 11.79 and an absolute magnitude of 10.91. This system is located at a distance of 49.4 light-years from the Sun based on parallax measurements. Judging by its space velocity components, it is most likely a thick disk star.
HD 4747 is a star that lies approximately 61 light-years away in the constellation of Cetus. The star is a low-amplitude spectroscopic binary, with the secondary being a directly detected brown dwarf.
NGC 4660 is an elliptical galaxy located about 63 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
AK Scorpii is a Herbig Ae/Be star and spectroscopic binary star about 459 light-years distant in the constellation Scorpius. The star belongs to the nearby Upper Centaurus–Lupus star-forming region and the star is actively accreting material. The binary is surrounded by a circumbinary disk that was imaged with VLT/SPHERE in scattered light and with ALMA.