Q Cygni

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Q Cygni
QCygLocation.png
Location of Q Cygni (circled in red)
Observation data
Epoch J2000       Equinox J2000
Constellation Cygnus
Right ascension 21h 41m 43.928s [1]
Declination 42° 50 29.04 [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)3.0 - 15.6 [2]
Characteristics
Spectral type K5 [3]
Variable type Nova [2]
Astrometry
Parallax (π)0.729 ± 0.024  mas [4]
Distance 1372+51
−42
[4] (741 [5] - 3,300 [6] )  pc
Absolute magnitude  (MV)−9.1 - +2.9 [4]
Details
White dwarf
Mass 0.8 [5]   M
Surface gravity (log g)8.5 [5]   cgs
Temperature 31,000 [5]   K
secondary
Mass 0.6 [3]   M
Other designations
Nova Cygni 1876, HR  8296, BD+42°4182a, AAVSO  2137+42, 2MASS  J21414393+4250290, Gaia DR2 1966874711229398656
Database references
SIMBAD data

Q Cygni (Q Cyg), is a star located in the constellation Cygnus. It is also known as Nova Cygni 1876, and has the designation NGC 7114, and HR 8296. Nova Cygni is located in the northwestern portion of Cygnus along the border with Lacerta.

One of the earliest novae recorded, [6] Q Cygni was discovered by astronomer Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt on November 24, 1876. [7] The star had undergone a nova, brightening to about 3rd magnitude and remaining as bright for four days. [6]

The system is termed a cataclysmic variable, [3] composed of a white dwarf in close orbit with another star that orbit each other every 10 hours. The white dwarf is surrounded by an accretion disc, which blazes much brighter than the star it circles. The system has been estimated to be 740 ± 11 parsecs distant. [5] The secondary star has been estimated to be around 0.6 times as massive as the Sun, making it an orange dwarf of spectral type K5. [3] Also known as a donor star, the secondary supplies mass to the white dwarf via its accretion disc. [3]

A small nebulous disc was reported around the nova and this led to it being listed in the New General Catalogue as a possible planetary nebula. No nebulosity is visible in modern observations and the Revised New General Catalogue lists this as a "non-existent" object. [8]

The light curve of Q Cygni. The red points are from a table published by Schmidt, and the blue points were measured from a plot published by Lockyer. QCygLightCurve.png
The light curve of Q Cygni. The red points are from a table published by Schmidt, and the blue points were measured from a plot published by Lockyer.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">T Coronae Borealis</span> Recurrent nova in the constellation Corona Borealis

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V1668 Cygni was a nova that appeared in the northern constellation of Cygnus, situated a couple of degrees to the southeast of the star Rho Cygni. It was discovered by Canadian variable star observer Warren Morrison on September 10, 1978, and reached a peak brightness of around 6.22 apparent magnitude on September 12. The luminosity of the source at this time was about 100,000 times the brightness of the Sun, and likely remained at that level for several months. The expansion velocity of the nova shell was deduced through spectroscopy to be 1,300 km/s.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Geminorum</span> Star in the constellation Gemini

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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">V404 Cygni</span> Star and black hole binary star system in the constellation Cygnus

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31 Cygni, also known as ο1 Cygni, Omicron1 Cygni, ο2 Cygni or V695 Cygni, is a ternary star system about 750 light years away in the constellation Cygnus.

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<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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">AR Andromedae</span> Star in the constellation Andromeda

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">V841 Ophiuchi</span> Nova seen in 1848 in the constellation Ophiuchus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WR 133</span> Wolf-Rayet star and spectroscopic binary star in the constellation of Cygnus

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

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References

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. 1 2 Samus, N. N.; Durlevich, O. V.; et al. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S. 1. Bibcode:2009yCat....102025S.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Peters, Christopher S.; Thorstensen, John R. (2006). "Spectroscopy of Five Old Novae: New or Refined Orbital Periods". The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . 118 (843): 687. Bibcode:2006PASP..118..687P. doi: 10.1086/504641 .
  4. 1 2 3 Schaefer, Bradley E. (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.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Kolobow, Craig; Sion, Edward (2011). "The Amazing Old Nova Q Cygni: A Far-Ultraviolet Synthetic Spectral Analysis". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 123 (906): 892–94. arXiv: 1106.1562 . Bibcode:2011PASP..123..892K. doi:10.1086/661235. S2CID   118737622.
  6. 1 2 3 Kafka, S.; Tappert, C.; Honeycutt, R. K.; Bianchini, A. (2003). "Spectroscopic Study of Q Cygni: Surprises from an Old Nova". The Astronomical Journal . 126 (3): 1472–82. Bibcode:2003AJ....126.1472K. doi: 10.1086/377020 .
  7. Duerbeck, Hilmar W. (March 1987). "A Reference Catalogue and Atlas of Galactic Novae". Space Science Reviews. 45 (1–2): 1–14. Bibcode:1987SSRv...45....1D. doi:10.1007/BF00187826. S2CID   115854775.
  8. "NGC 7000 - 7840" . Retrieved 2016-09-07.
  9. Schmidt, Johann Friedrich Julius (January 1877). "Über den neuen Stern im Schwan". Astronomische Nachrichten. 89 (3): 41. Bibcode:1877AN.....89...41S. doi:10.1002/asna.18770890304.
  10. Lockyer, J. Norman (January 1891). "On the Causes which Produce the Phenomena of New Stars". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A. 182: 397–448. Bibcode:1891RSPTA.182..397L. doi: 10.1098/rsta.1891.0011 .

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