HD 93250 is the bright star just above and left of the centre of this image of the Carina Nebula, directly above the Keyhole Nebula. Credit: ESO | |
Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Carina |
Right ascension | 10h 44m 45.028s [1] |
Declination | −59° 33′ 54.68″ [1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.41 [2] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | O4 IV(fc) [3] |
U−B color index | −0.85 [2] |
B−V color index | +0.17 [2] |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | 11.6 [4] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: −7.116 [1] mas/yr Dec.: +3.081 [1] mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | 0.4115 ± 0.0199 mas [1] |
Distance | 7,900 ± 400 ly (2,400 ± 100 pc) |
Absolute magnitude (MV) | −6.14 [5] |
Orbit [6] | |
Period (P) | 194.31±0.39 d |
Semi-major axis (a) | 1.224±0.028 mas |
Eccentricity (e) | 0.217±0.011 |
Inclination (i) | 22±41° |
Longitude of the node (Ω) | 59±20° |
Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 171±24° |
Details [5] | |
Radius | 15.9 R☉ |
Luminosity | 1,000,000 L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 3.96 cgs |
Temperature | 46,000 K |
Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 130 km/s |
Age | 1.3 Myr |
A | |
Mass | 49 [6] M☉ |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
HD 93250 is a highly luminous hot blue binary star in the Carina Nebula in the constellation Carina.
HD 93250 is one of the brightest stars in the region of the Carina Nebula. It is only 7.5 arc-minutes from the famous Eta Carinae2,350 [7] and HD 93250 is considered to be a member of the same loose open cluster Trumpler 16, although it appears closer to the more compact Trumpler 14. [8]
HD 93250 is in a region of the Carina Nebula with several bright stars, for example HD 93268 and HDE 303311, but relatively few faint stars. It has been proposed that these bright stars are the core of a separate cluster called Collinder 232, but the lack of any concentration of fainter stars in the area makes it more likely that Collinder 232 is not a real cluster and HD 93250 is just an outlying member of one of the more obvious clusters. [9]
Membership of Trumpler 16 constrains the distance and likely age of HD 93250. [5]
Although HD 93250 is known to be a binary star, individual spectra of the two components have never been observed, but they are thought to be very similar. The spectral type of HD 93250 has variously been given as O5, [10] O6/7, [11] O4, [12] and O3. [13] It has sometimes been classified as a main sequence star and sometimes as a giant star. [12] [13] The Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey has used it as the standard star for the newly created O4 subgiant spectral type. [3]
HD 93250 is the brightest x-ray source in the Carina Nebula. [7] It has long been suspected that this is due to colliding winds in a close pair of hot luminous stars, but investigations have failed to show any significant radial velocity variations to support this. [4] One calculated orbit suggests that a small inclination means the radial velocity changes due to orbital motion will be too small to resolve given the type of spectrum of the two stars. [6]
In 2010, AMBER interferometry resolved HD 93250 into two separate stars. No relative motion or radial velocity variations could be detected and so the orbit and properties of the two stars is still uncertain. The projected separation of the stars is 1.5 mas, approximately 3.5 astronomical units. The two stars show no measurable colour difference and are both likely to be hot O stars with masses within 10% of each other. [7]
The physical properties of HD 93250 have only been calculated on the assumption that it is a single star. The temperature is around 50,000 K and its luminosity around 1,000,000 L☉ Calculations of the mass have shown discrepancies between spectroscopic models and evolutionary models, which may be resolved by analysis of two separate stars in the system. [14]
The Carina Nebula or Eta Carinae Nebula is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is approximately 8,500 light-years (2,600 pc) from Earth.
AE Aurigae is a runaway star in the constellation Auriga; it lights the Flaming Star Nebula.
Mu Columbae is a star in the constellation of Columba. It is one of the few O-class stars that are visible to the unaided eye. The star is known to lie approximately 1,900 light years from the Solar System.
HD 96919, also known by its Bayer designation of z2 Carinae and the variable star designation of V371 Carinae, is a blue supergiant star in the constellation Carina. It lies near the Carina Nebula and at a comparable distance.
HD 92063 is a single star in the southern constellation of Carina. It has the Bayer designation t1 Carinae, while HD 92063 is the star's identifier from the Henry Draper Catalogue. This is a suspected variable star and is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.08. The star is located at a distance of approximately 246 light years from the Sun based on parallax, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −10 km/s. Although it appears at the edge of the Carina Nebula, it is much closer than the nebula. It is also not considered a member of the nearby Alessi 5 open cluster of stars.
HD 93129 is a triple star system in the Carina Nebula, with all three components being hot O class stars amongst the most luminous stars in the Milky Way. It is the dominant member of the Trumpler 14 star cluster, a young star cluster within the Carina OB1 stellar association that harbors other super-luminous stars, like Eta Carinae and WR 25.
Theta Pictoris is a star in the Pictor constellation.
HD 222582 is a multiple star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. It is invisible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 7.7, but can be viewed with binoculars or a small telescope. The system is located at a distance of 137 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and it is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +12 km/s. It is located close enough to the ecliptic that it is subject to lunar occultations.
HD 93205, or V560 Carinae, is a binary stellar system, in the Carina Nebula in the constellation Carina. It consists of two massive O-stars that revolve around each other in 6 days.
63 Ophiuchi is an O-type giant star in the constellation Sagittarius, despite its name. During a 2009 survey for companions of massive stars, it was observed using speckle interferometry but no companion was found. The small parallax measurement of 0.91±0.09 mas suggest that this extremely luminous star may be located about 3,600 light-years away. An estimate of the distance based on the strength of the Ca II line yields a more modest value of 2,605 ly (799 pc). The star lies only 0.3° north of the galactic plane.
HD 168625 is a blue hypergiant star and candidate luminous blue variable located in the constellation of Sagittarius easy to see with amateur telescopes. It forms a visual pair with the also blue hypergiant HD 168607 and is located to the south-east of M17, the Omega Nebula.
HD 168607 is a blue hypergiant and luminous blue variable (LBV) star located in the constellation of Sagittarius, easy to see with amateur telescopes. It forms a pair with HD 168625, also a blue hypergiant and possible luminous blue variable, that can be seen at the south-east of M17, the Omega Nebula.
WR 25 is a binary star system in the turbulent star-forming region the Carina Nebula, about 6,800 light-years from Earth. It contains a Wolf-Rayet star and a hot luminous companion and is a member of the Trumpler 16 cluster. The name comes from the Catalogue of Galactic Wolf–Rayet Stars.
WR 24 is a Wolf-Rayet star in the constellation Carina. It is one of the most luminous stars known. At the edge of naked eye visibility it is also one of the brightest Wolf Rayet stars in the sky.
Trumpler 16 is a massive open cluster that is home to some of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way galaxy. It is situated within the Carina Nebula complex in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm, located approximately 9,270 ly (2,842 pc) from Earth. The cluster has one star visible to the naked eye from the tropics southward, Eta Carinae.
Trumpler 14 is an open cluster with a diameter of six light-years (1.8 pc), located within the inner regions of the Carina Nebula, approximately 8,980 light-years (2,753 pc) from Earth. Together with the nearby Trumpler 16, they are the main clusters of the Carina OB1 stellar association, which is the largest association in the Carina Nebula, although Trumpler 14 is not as massive or as large as Trumpler 16.
HD 93403 is a spectroscopic binary containing two highly luminous hot blue stars. It is 10,000 light years away in the Carina Nebula in the constellation Carina. It appears to have spectral type O5.5III, but this is composed of two spectra from a blue supergiant and blue main sequence star of spectral type O5.5I and O7V respectively. The two stars orbit every 15 days with a separation that varies from 93 R☉ to 149 R☉. The binary is shedding mass at the high rate of 0.0005 M☉ per year.
c Ursae Majoris is the Bayer designation for a double-lined spectroscopic binary star system in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.18, which indicates that is visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements yield an estimated distance of 66 light years from the Sun. The star is moving closer to the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of −14 km/s.
HD 151932, also known as WR 78, is a Wolf-Rayet star located in the constellation Scorpius, close to the galactic plane. Its distance is around 1,300 parsecs away from the Earth. Despite being a blue-colored Wolf-Rayet star, it is extremely reddened by interstellar extinction, so its apparent magnitude is brighter for longer-wavelength passbands. HD 151932 lies about 22′ west of the open cluster NGC 6231, the center of the OB association Scorpius OB1; it is not clear whether it is a part of the association or not. With an apparent magnitude of about 6.5, it is one of the few Wolf-Rayet stars that can be seen with the naked eye.
HD 116852, also known as HIP 65890, is a solitary, whitish-blue-hued star located in the southern circumpolar constellation Chamaeleon. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.47, making it readily visible in binoculars but not to the naked eye. The star is located relatively far at a distance of 6,310 parsecs but is drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of −47 km/s. At its current distance, HD 116852's brightness is diminished by 0.67 magnitudes due to extinction from interstellar dust. It has an absolute bolometric magnitude of −9.0.