HU Aquarii (abbreviated HU Aqr) is an eclipsing binary system approximately 620 light-years away from the Sun, [2] forming a cataclysmic variable of AM Herculis-type. The two stars orbit each other every 2.08 hours [3] and the ultra-short binary system includes an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf.
In 1993, Axel Schwope et al. discovered that the star, then called RXJ2107.9-0518, was both an eclipsing binary and a cataclysmic variable. The star had been flagged as a probable AM Herculis star from data collected during the ROSAT All Sky Survey. [5] It was given its variable star designation, HU Aquarii, in 1995. [6]
The HU Aquarii binary system exhibits variations in the timing of the eclipses. Schwarz et al. (2009) note that the variations are too large to be caused by the Applegate mechanism, and are within the expected range of magnetic braking but 30 times too large to be caused by gravitational radiation alone. As an alternative explanation, they suggested that the variations might be caused by an object in orbit around the binary, causing it to move back and forth along the line-of-sight to the system. [7] In March 2011, Qian et al. claimed the presence of two planets, [8] though the proposed orbits were subsequently shown to be unstable [9] and on orbits determined from a more thorough and precise analysis of the observational data. [10] Indeed, it seems likely that the signal that was interpreted as being the result of planetary companions might be instead the result of not well-studied interactions between the white dwarf and its red dwarf companion: as of 2014 all proposed orbital solutions have been refuted and it appears that the full set of timing measurements is inconsistent with any 1, 2 or 3-planet system due to poor fits to the data and unstable orbital configurations. [11] With new data gathered by 2018, the existence of planetary system remains elusive, as no model fitting all observations can be made. [12]
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.
Upsilon Aquarii, Latinized from υ Aquarii, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.21. Parallax measurements give a distance estimate of 74.8 light-years from Earth. This is a high proper-motion star that is drifting closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of –2.3 km/s. It is part of the Hercules-Lyra association.
29 Aquarii is a binary star system located around 590 light years away from the Sun in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. 29 Aquarii is the Flamsteed designation; the system also bears the variable star designation DX Aquarii. It is a challenge to view with the naked eye, appearing as a dim star with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 6.39. The system is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of about +15 km/s.
R Aquarii is a variable star in the constellation Aquarius.
DV Aquarii is a binary star system in the zodiac constellation of Aquarius, near the border with Capricornus. It has a peak apparent visual magnitude of 5.89, which is bright enough to be visible to the naked eye. The distance can be estimated from its annual parallax shift of 11.2 mas, yielding a separation of 291 light years.
AE Aquarii is a cataclysmic variable binary star of the DQ Herculis type. Based upon parallax measurements, the system is located at a distance of about 280 light-years from the Earth. Because of its unique properties, this system has been subject to a number of scientific studies. The white dwarf in the AE Aquarii system is the first star of its type known to give off pulsar-like pulsations that are powered by its rotation and particle acceleration.
HW Virginis, abbreviated HW Vir, is an eclipsing binary system, approximately 563 light-years away based on the parallax measured by the Gaia spacecraft, in the constellation of Virgo. The system comprises an eclipsing B-type subdwarf star and red dwarf star. The two stars orbit each other every 0.116795 days.
NN Serpentis is an eclipsing post-common envelope binary system approximately 1670 light-years away. The system comprises an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf. The two stars orbit each other every 0.13 days.
QS Virginis is an eclipsing binary system approximately 163 light-years away from the Sun, forming a cataclysmic variable. The system comprises an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf that orbit each other every 3.37 hours.
DP Leonis is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Leo. It is a variable star that ranges in apparent visual magnitude from 17.5 down to 19. The system is located at a distance of approximately 990 light-years from the Sun based on parallax. It is a cataclysmic variable star of the AM Herculis-type also known as polars. The system comprises an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf in tight orbit and an extrasolar planet. This eclipsing variable was discovered by P. Biermann and associates in 1982 as the optical counterpart to the EINSTEIN X-ray source E1114+182.
AN Ursae Majoris is a binary star system in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It is a variable star, with AN Ursae Majoris being the variable star designation, and ranges in brightness from 14.90 down to 20.2. Even at its peak brightness though, the system is much too faint to be visible to the naked eye. Based on parallax measurements, the system is located roughly 1,050 light years away from the Sun.
QS Telescopii is a faint, well-studied binary star system in the southern constellation Telescopium. It is composed of a white dwarf and main sequence donor star, locked into a close, circular orbit facing one another. Known as polars, material from the donor star does not form an accretion disk around the white dwarf, but rather streams directly onto it. This is due to the presence of the white dwarf's strong magnetic field. The pair undergo frequent shifts between a high and low accretion states, and it shifts between single and double accretion poles. The main pole is partially self-eclipsing.
SU Ursae Majoris, or SU UMa, is a close binary star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It is a periodic cataclysmic variable that varies in magnitude from a peak of 10.8 down to a base of 14.96. The distance to this system, as determined from its annual parallax shift of 4.53 mas, is 719 light-years. It is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +27 km/s.
UZ Fornacis is a binary star in the constellation of Fornax. It appears exceedingly faint with a maximum apparent magnitude 17.0. Its distance, as measured by Gaia using the parallax method, is about 780 light-years.
NY Virginis is a binary star about 1,940 light-years away. The primary belongs to the rare class of subdwarf B stars, being former red giants with their hydrogen envelope completely stripped by a stellar companion. The companion is a red dwarf star. The binary nature of NY Virginis was first identified in 1998, and the extremely short orbital period of 0.101016 d, together with brightness variability on the timescale of 200 seconds was noticed, resulting in the identification of the primary star as a B-type subdwarf in 2003. Under a proposed classification scheme for hot subdwarfs it would be class sdB1VII:He1. This non-standard system indicates that it is a "normal" luminosity for a hot subdwarf and that the spectrum is dominated by hydrogen rather than helium.
BZ Ursae Majoris is a dwarf nova star system in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It consists of a white dwarf primary in a close orbit with a red dwarf. The latter star is donating mass, which is accumulating in an accretion disk orbiting the white dwarf. The system is located at a distance of approximately 505 light years from the Sun based on parallax measurements.
EQ Tauri is a triple star system in the equatorial constellation of Taurus that includes a contact eclipsing binary. The system is too faint to be viewed with the naked eye, having a baseline apparent visual magnitude of 10.5. During the primary eclipse, the brightness of the system drops to magnitude 11.03, then to 10.97 during the secondary minimum. The secondary eclipse is total. Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 730 light years from the Sun.
QQ Vulpeculae is a cataclysmic variable binary star system in the northern constellation of Vulpecula, abbreviated QQ Vul. It has a brightness that fluctuates around an apparent visual magnitude of 14.7, which is too faint to be viewed with the naked eye. The distance to this system is approximately 981 light years based on parallax measurements.
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.
YY Draconis and DO Draconis are separate identifiers for what is likely the same cataclysmic variable system in the northern constellation of Draco, abbreviated YY Dra and DO Dra, respectively. The DO Dra binary star system is classified as a U Geminorum variable that ranges in luminosity from an apparent visual magnitude of 10.0 down to 15.1. It is located at a distance of approximately 639 light years from the Sun.