GK Persei

Last updated

GK Persei
GKPersei-MiniSuperNova-20150316.jpg
GK Persei and the surrounding Firework nebula.
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0        Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Perseus
Right ascension 03h 31m 11.82s [1]
Declination +43° 54′ 16.8″ [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)0.02 [2] - 14.0 [3]
Characteristics
Spectral type K1IV [4]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)5.5 [5]  km/s
Proper motion (μ)RA: −6.878 [6]   mas/yr
Dec.: −17.348 [6]   mas/yr
Parallax (π)2.3063 ± 0.0415  mas [6]
Distance 1,440+29
−26  ly
(442+9
−8 [2]   pc)
Absolute magnitude  (MV)−9.1 - +3.7 [2]
Orbit [7]
Period (P)1.996872 ± 0.000009 d
Inclination (i)67 ± 5°
Semi-amplitude (K2)
(secondary)		126.4 ± 0.9 km/s
Details [7]
White dwarf
Mass 1.03+0.16
−0.11  M☉
Subgiant
Mass 0.39+0.07
−0.06  M☉
Radius 2.26 ± 0.11  R☉
Other designations
GK Per, Nova Per 1901, HD 21629, HR 1057, BD+43 740a, 2MASS J03311201+4354154, 1RXS J033111.9+435427 [8]
Database references
SIMBAD data

GK Persei (also Nova Persei 1901) was a bright nova first observed on Earth in 1901. It was discovered by Thomas David Anderson, an Edinburgh clergyman, at 02:40 UT on 22 February 1901 when it was at magnitude 2.7. [9] [10] It reached a maximum magnitude of 0.2, the brightest nova of modern times until Nova Aquilae 1918. After fading into obscurity at about magnitude 12 to 13 during the early 20th century, GK Persei began displaying infrequent outbursts of 2 to 3 magnitudes (about 7 to 15 times quiescent brightness). Since about 1980, these outbursts have become quite regular, typically lasting about two months and occurring about every three years. Thus, GK Persei seems to have changed from a classical nova like Nova Aquilae 1918 to something resembling a typical dwarf nova-type cataclysmic variable star.

Contents

Surrounding GK Persei is the Firework nebula, a nova remnant first detected in 1902 consisting of an expanding cloud of gas and dust bubbles moving up to 1200 km/s. [11]

The light curve of GK Persei, plotted from AAVSO data. The main plot shows the major outburst in 1901. Subplot A shows the minor outbursts which have been occurring about every 3 years since around 1980. Subplot B shows the outburst that occurred in 2018, on an expanded scale. GKPerLightCurve.png
The light curve of GK Persei, plotted from AAVSO data. The main plot shows the major outburst in 1901. Subplot A shows the minor outbursts which have been occurring about every 3 years since around 1980. Subplot B shows the outburst that occurred in 2018, on an expanded scale.

GK Persei has precise parallaxes reported from Gaia DR2 and Gaia EDR3, [12] [6] but these are thought to be badly affected by the binary nature of the system. The Hubble Space Telescope has used a different method to derive the distance to GK Persei using nebular expansion velocity and compares that with its own astrometric parallax calculation. This gave a somewhat smaller parallax (larger distance) than the Gaia measurements. [13]

Properties

Novae consist of a main-sequence to giant star that accretes mass onto a white dwarf. The two stars of GK Persei orbit each other with a period of nearly 2 days. The white dwarf, with a mass of 1.03  M☉, has one of the highest masses measured in a cataclysmic variable. The donor star, having donated much of its mass to the white dwarf, is only 0.39 M☉ despite being a subgiant star. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V603 Aquilae</span> 1918 Nova event in the constellation Aquila

V603 Aquilae was a bright nova first observed in the constellation Aquila in 1918. It was the brightest "new star" to appear in the sky since Kepler's Supernova in 1604. Like all novae, it is a binary system, comprising a white dwarf and donor low-mass star in close orbit to the point of being only semidetached. The white dwarf sucks matter off its companion, which has filled its Roche lobe, onto its accretion disk and surface until the excess material is blown off in a thermonuclear event. This material then forms an expanding shell, which eventually thins out and disappears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DQ Herculis</span> Nova in the constellation Hercules

DQ Herculis, or Nova Herculis 1934, was a slow, bright nova occurring in the northern constellation of Hercules in December 1934. This cataclysmic variable star was discovered on 13 December 1934 by J. P. M. Prentice from Stowmarket, Suffolk. It reached peak brightness on 22 December 1934 with an apparent magnitude of 1.5. The nova remained visible to the naked eye for several months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DI Lacertae</span> 1910 Nova in the constellation Lacerta

DI Lacertae or Nova Lacertae 1910 was a nova in constellation Lacerta which appeared in 1910. It was discovered by Thomas Henry Espinell Compton Espin at Wolsingham Observatory on 30 Dec 1910, at which time it was an 8th magnitude object. Subsequent examination of pre-discovery photographic plates showed that the outburst occurred sometime between 17 November 1910 and 23 November 1910. It reached a peak brightness of magnitude 4.6 on 26 November 1910, making it visible to the naked eye. Before the nova event DI Lacertae was a 14th magnitude star, and by 1950 it had returned to 14th magnitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CP Lacertae</span> 1936 Nova seen in the constellation Lacerta

CP Lacertae was a nova, which lit up on June 18, 1936 in the constellation Lacerta. It was discovered independently by several observers including Leslie Peltier in the US, E. Loreta in Italy, and Kazuaki Gomi, a Japanese barber who discovered the nova during the 19 June 1936 total solar eclipse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BT Monocerotis</span> Nova seen in 1939

BT Monocerotis was a nova, which lit up in the constellation Monoceros in 1939. It was discovered on a spectral plate by Fred L. Whipple on December 23, 1939. BT Monocerotis is believed to have reached mag 4.5, which would have made it visible to the naked eye, but that value is an extrapolation; the nova was not observed at peak brightness Its brightness decreased after the outbreak by 3 magnitudes in 182 days, making it a "slow nova". The light curve for the eruption had a long plateau period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V604 Aquilae</span> Nova in the constellation Aquila

V604 Aquilae or Nova Aquilae 1905 is a nova which was first observed in the constellation Aquila in 1905 with a maximum brightness of magnitude 7.6. It was never bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. It was discovered by Williamina Fleming on a Harvard College Observatory photographic plate taken on August 31, 1905. Examination of plates taken earlier indicates that peak brightness occurred in mid-August 1905. The star's quiescent visual band brightness is 19.6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V1494 Aquilae</span> Nova seen in 1999 in the constellation of Aquila

V1494 Aquilae or Nova Aquilae 1999 b was a nova which occurred during 1999 in the constellation Aquila and reached a brightness of magnitude 3.9 on 2 December 1999. making it easily visible to the naked eye. The nova was discovered with 14×100 binoculars by Alfredo Pereira of Cabo da Roca, Portugal at 18:50 UT on 1 December 1999, when it had a visual magnitude of 6.0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZ Sagittae</span> Variable star in the constellation Sagitta

WZ Sagittae is a cataclysmic dwarf nova star system in the constellation Sagitta. It consists of a white dwarf primary being orbited by a low mass companion. The white dwarf is about 0.85 solar masses while the companion is only 0.08 solar masses. This implies that the companion is a spectral class L2 star, although this has yet to be confirmed. The distance to this system has been determined by parallax, yielding a distance of 45.1 parsecs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RX Andromedae</span> Cataclysmic variable star system in the constellation Andromeda

RX Andromedae is a variable star in the constellation of Andromeda. Although it is classified as a dwarf nova of the Z Camelopardalis (UGZ) type, it has shown low-luminosity periods typical of VY Sculptoris stars. However, for most of the time it varies from an apparent visual magnitude of 15.1 at minimum brightness to a magnitude of 10.2 at maximum brightness, with a period of approximately 13 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SS Cygni</span> Variable star in the constellation Cygnus

SS Cygni is a variable star in the northern constellation Cygnus. It was discovered in 1896 by Louisa D. Wells, a computer working under Edward Pickering at Harvard College Observatory. It is the prototype of the subclass of dwarf novae that show only normal eruptions. It typically rises from 12th magnitude to 8th magnitude for 1–2 days every 7 or 8 weeks. The northerly declination of SS Cygni makes the star almost circumpolar from European and North American latitudes, allowing a large proportion of the world's amateur astronomers to monitor its behavior. Furthermore, since the star lies against the rich backdrop of the Milky Way band, the telescope field of view around SS Cygni contains an abundance of useful brightness comparison stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RW Ursae Minoris</span> Nova that appeared in 1956

RW Ursae Minoris is a cataclysmic variable star system that flared up as a nova in the constellation Ursa Minor in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V1017 Sagittarii</span> Star in the constellation Sagittarius

V1017 Sagittarii is a cataclysmic variable star system in the constellation Sagittarius. It first erupted in 1919, reaching magnitude 7. Its other eruptions in 1901, 1973 and 1991 only reached magnitude 10, leading it to be reclassified from a recurrent nova to a dwarf nova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BV Centauri</span> Star in the constellation Centaurus


BV Centauri is a cataclysmic variable binary star in the constellation Centaurus. It is a dwarf nova, and undergoes rapid increases in brightness that are recurrent with a mean period of 150 days. This period seems to have increased in the last few decades. During quiescence, its visual apparent magnitude is about 13, with variations of a few tenths of magnitude over an orbit due to differences in the star's visible surface area, brightening to a maximum magnitude of 10.7 during outbursts. From its luminosity, it is estimated that the system is about 500 parsecs (1,600 ly) away from Earth. A Gaia parallax of 2.81 mas has been measured, corresponding to about 360 pc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V392 Persei</span> Nova in the constellation Perseus

V392 Persei, also known as Nova Persei 2018, is a bright nova in the constellation Perseus discovered on April 29, 2018. It was previously known as a dwarf nova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LL Andromedae</span> Dwarf nova star in the constellation Andromeda

LL Andromedae is a dwarf nova in the constellation Andromeda, discovered during an outburst in 1979. Its typical apparent visual magnitude is 19.4, but undergoes outbursts events when can reach a peak magnitude of 14.3. Since this magnitude is reached during the most powerful outbursts, while less bright outbursts can occur, it is classified as a SU Ursae Majoris variable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YZ Reticuli</span> 2020 Nova in the constellation Reticulum

YZ Reticuli, also known as Nova Reticuli 2020 was a naked eye nova in the constellation Reticulum discovered on July 15, 2020. Previously it was known as a VY Sculptoris type object with the designation MGAB-V207.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V Persei</span> Nova event seen in 1887 in the constellation Perseus

V Persei, also known as Nova Persei 1887 was discovered by Williamina Fleming on a Harvard College Observatory objective-prism photograph taken on 3 November 1887. It is believed to be the first nova whose spectrum was recorded. The nova had an apparent magnitude of 9.2 at the time of discovery. Judging from the consistency of the nova's brightness after discovery, and details of the spectral lines seen, McLaughlin estimated that the nova was five or six months past peak brightness at the time of its discovery, and at its peak it was almost certainly at least as bright as 4th magnitude. So V Persei was probably visible to the naked eye, though there is no record that anyone actually noticed it when that was possible. It is currently an 18th magnitude object.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GI Monocerotis</span> 1918 Nova in the constellation Monoceros

GI Monocerotis, also known as Nova Monocerotis 1918, was a nova that erupted in the constellation Monoceros during 1918. It was discovered by Max Wolf on a photographic plate taken at the Heidelberg Observatory on 4 February 1918. At the time of its discovery, it had a photographic magnitude of 8.5, and had already passed its peak brightness. A search of plates taken at the Harvard College Observatory showed that it had a photographic magnitude of 5.4 on 1 January 1918, so it would have been visible to the naked eye around that time. By March 1918 it had dropped to ninth or tenth magnitude. By November 1920 it was a little fainter than 15th magnitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V1370 Aquilae</span> Nova that occurred in 1982

V1370 Aquilae, also known as Nova Aquilae 1982, is a nova that appeared in the constellation Aquila during 1982. It was discovered by Minoru Honda of Kurashiki, Japan at 20:30 UT on 27 January 1982. At that time the Sun had moved just far enough from Aquila to allow the nova to be seen in the morning sky. Although it was discovered photographically, its apparent magnitude was 6–7, making it potentially visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions. A possible magnitude 20 progenitor was located on the Palomar Sky Survey prints. Spectra of the object were taken in February 1982 at Asiago Astrophysical Observatory, which confirmed that it is a nova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DW Ursae Majoris</span> Variable star in the constellation Ursa Major

DW Ursae Majoris is an eclipsing binary star system in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major, abbreviated DW UMa. It is a cataclysmic variable of the SX Sextanis type, consisting of a compact white dwarf that is accreting matter from an orbiting companion star. The brightness of this source ranges from an apparent visual magnitude of 13.6 down to magnitude 18, which is too faint to be viewed with the naked eye. The distance to this system is approximately 1,920 light years based on parallax measurements.

References

  1. 1 2 Downes, Ronald; Webbink, Ronald F.; Shara, Michael M. (April 1997), "A Catalog and Atlas of Cataclysmic Variables-Second Edition", Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 109: 345–440, Bibcode:1997PASP..109..345D, doi: 10.1086/133900 , S2CID   120396435
  2. 1 2 3 Schaefer, Bradley E. (December 2018). "The distances to Novae as seen by Gaia". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 481 (3): 3033–3051. arXiv: 1809.00180 . Bibcode:2018MNRAS.481.3033S. doi: 10.1093/mnras/sty2388 . S2CID   118925493.
  3. ↑ van Altena, William F.; Lee, J.T.; et al. (1995). The general catalogue of trigonometric [stellar] parallaxes. Bibcode:1995gcts.book.....V.
  4. ↑ Morales-Rueda, L.; Still, M.D.; Roche, P.; Wood, J.H.; Lockley, J.J. (January 2002). "The stellar mass ratio of GK Persei". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 329 (3): 597–604. arXiv: astro-ph/0110332 . Bibcode:2002MNRAS.329..597M. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05013.x .
  5. ↑ Wilson, Ralph Elmer (January 1953). "General catalogue of stellar radial velocities". Carnegie Institute Washington D.C. Publication. Bibcode:1953GCRV..C......0W . Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics . 649: A1. arXiv: 2012.01533 . Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...1G. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202039657 . S2CID   227254300. (Erratum:  doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657e). Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  7. 1 2 3 Álvarez-Hernández, A.; Torres, M A P.; Rodríguez-Gil, P.; Shahbaz, T.; Anupama, G. C.; Gazeas, K. D.; Pavana, M.; Raj, A.; Hakala, P.; Stone, G.; Gomez, S.; Jonker, P. G.; Ren, J-J; Cannizzaro, G.; Pastor-Marazuela, I.; Goff, W.; Corral-Santana, J. M.; Sabo, R. (2021). "The intermediate polar cataclysmic variable GK Persei 120 years after the nova explosion: A first dynamical mass study". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 507 (4): 5805–5819. arXiv: 2107.06932 . doi: 10.1093/mnras/stab2547 .
  8. ↑ "V* GK Per". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Shears, Jeremy (2012). "The astronomizings of Dr. Anderson and the curious case of his disappearing nova". The Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 123 (5): 270–279. arXiv: 1209.4057 . Bibcode:2013JBAA..123..270S.
  10. ↑ Warner, B. (February 2006). "Where have all the novae gone?". Astronomy & Geophysics. 47 (1): 29–32. Bibcode:2006A&G....47a..29W. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-4004.2006.47129.x .
  11. ↑ "NOAO". Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  12. ↑ Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics . 616. A1. arXiv: 1804.09365 . Bibcode: 2018A&A...616A...1G . doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201833051 . Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  13. ↑ Harrison, Thomas E.; et al. (2013). "Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor Parallaxes for Four Classical Novae". The Astrophysical Journal. 767 (1). 7. arXiv: 1302.3245 . Bibcode:2013ApJ...767....7H. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/1/7. S2CID   118376206.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.