Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
---|---|
Constellation | Sagittarius |
Right ascension | 17h 52m 32.69s [1] |
Declination | −17° 41′ 08.0″ [1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.90 - 21 [2] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | variable |
Apparent magnitude (J) | 11.555 ± 0.022 [1] |
U−B color index | +0.27 [3] |
B−V color index | +0.81 [3] |
V−R color index | +0.57 [3] |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | −170 ± 30 [4] km/s |
Distance | 1800-5000 [5] pc |
Details | |
Mass | 0.6 [6] M☉ |
Luminosity | ~10,000 [7] L☉ |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
Sakurai's Object (V4334 Sagittarii) is a star in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is thought to have previously been a white dwarf that, as a result of a very late thermal pulse, swelled and became a red giant. It is located at the center of a planetary nebula and is believed to currently be in thermal instability and within its final shell helium flash phase.
At the time of its discovery, astronomers believed Sakurai's Object to be a slow nova. Later spectroscopic analysis suggested that the star was not a nova, but had instead undergone a very late thermal pulse similar to that of V605 Aquilae, causing it to vastly expand. V605 Aquilae, which was discovered in 1919, is the only other star known to have been observed during the high luminosity phase of a very late thermal pulse, and models predict that Sakurai's Object, over the next few decades, will follow a similar life cycle.
Sakurai's Object and other similar stars are expected to end up as helium-rich white dwarfs after retracing their evolution track from the "born-again" giant phase back to the white dwarf cooling track. There are few other suspected "born-again" objects, one example being FG Sagittae. Having erupted in 1995, it is expected that Sakurai's Object's final helium flash will be the first well-observed one. [8]
An International Astronomical Union Circular sent on 23 February 1996 announced the discovery of a "possible 'slow' nova" of magnitude 11.4 by Yukio Sakurai, an amateur astronomer. [10] Japanese astronomer Syuichi Nakano reported the discovery, drawing attention to the fact that the object had not been visible in images from 1993 nor in Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian records for the years 1930–1951, despite it appearing to slowly brighten over the previous years. Nakano wrote that "While the outburst [suggests] a slow or symbiotic nova, the lack of obvious emission lines one year after brightening is very unusual." [11]
Following the initial announcement, Hilmar Duerbeck published a study investigating the "possible final helium flash" seen by Sakurai. In it, they noted that the location of Sakurai's Object corresponded to a faint object detected in 1976 of magnitude 21, and discussed other observations in the years 1994–1996, by which time the magnitude had increased to around 11–15. [12] By investigating the measured fluxes, angular diameter, and mass of the nebula, a distance of 5.5 kpc and luminosity of 38 L☉ was determined. The researchers noted that this was in agreement with their appearance and model predictions [13] and that the outburst luminosity was in the area of 3100 solar luminosities; lower than predicted by a factor of 3.
The first infrared observations were published in 1998, in which both near and far infrared spectroscopy data was presented. The collected data showed Sakurai's Object's steep brightening in 1996, followed by a sharp decline in 1999 as expected. It was later found that the star's steep decline in light was due to the circumstellar dust located around the star, which was present at a temperature of ~680 K. [14] [15] Further infrared data recorded by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope was published in 2000, in which findings of the changing absorption lines were discussed. [16] [17]
Observations from the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in 1999 revealed that the star is in a RCB-like phase with the release of dust and huge loss of mass. [18]
Since 2005, it has been observed in the ejected particles of Sakurai's Object that photoionization of carbon is taking place. [5]
Sakurai's Object is a highly evolved post-asymptotic giant branch star which has, following a brief period on the white dwarf cooling track, undergone a helium shell flash (also known as a very late thermal pulse). [10] [19] [20] The star is thought to have a mass of around 0.6 M☉. [6] Observations of Sakurai's Object show increasing reddening and pulsing activity, suggesting that the star is exhibiting thermal instability during its final helium-shell flash. [3] [21]
Prior to its reignition V4334 Sgr is thought to have been cooling towards a white dwarf with a temperature around 100,000 K and a luminosity around 100 L☉. The luminosity rapidly increased about a hundred-fold and then the temperature decreased to around 10,000 K. The star developed the appearance of an F class supergiant (F2 Ia). [7] The apparent temperature continued to cool to below 6,000 K and the star was gradually obscured at optical wavelengths by the formation of carbon dust, similar to an R CrB star. [22] Since then the temperature has increased to around 20,000 K. [7]
The properties of Sakurai's Object are quite similar to that of V605 Aquilae. [5] V605, discovered in 1919, is the only other known star observed during the high luminosity phase of a very late thermal pulse, and Sakurai's Object is modeled to increase in temperature in the next few decades to match the current state of V605. [21]
During the second half of 1998 an optically thick dust shell obscured Sakurai's Object, causing a rapid decrease in visibility of the star, until in 1999 it disappeared from optical wavelength observations altogether. [22] Infrared observations showed that the dust cloud around the star is primarily carbon in an amorphous form. [23] In 2009 it was discovered that the dust shell is strongly asymmetrical, as a disc with a major axis oriented at an angle of 134°, and inclination of around 75°. The disc is thought to be growing more opaque due to the fast spectral evolution of the source towards lower temperatures. [24] [25]
Sakurai's Object is surrounded by a planetary nebula created following the star's red giant phase around 8300 years ago. [26] It has been determined that the nebula has a diameter of 44 arcseconds and expansion velocity of roughly 32 km/s. [27]
Research in 1996 revealed that Sakurai's Object possessed the characteristics of a R Coronae Borealis variable star with the anomaly of Carbon-13 (13C) deficit. Also, the metallicity of Sakurai's object in 1996 was similar to that of V605 Aquilae in 1921. However, it is expected that Sakurai's object will grow in its metallicity to match that of V605 Aquilae. [15]
A significant amount of new star formation and star destruction data is expected to be recorded from continued observation of Sakurai's Object, as well as be used as reference data in the future research of similar stars. [10] For example, Sakurai's Object is a prime target to study the recombination that occurs after planetary nebulae are ionized, because the conditions would be very difficult to replicate in a laboratory. [28] The reason that stars such as Sakurai's Object and V605 Aquilae exist, as well as experience a shorter lifespan compared to most stars, is largely unknown. Sakurai's Object and V605 Aquilae have been observed experiencing born-again behavior for only 10 years, while FG Sagittae has undergone such behavior for 120 years. It is hypothesized that this is due to Sakurai's Object and V605 Aquilae evolving to the asymptotic giant branch of stars for the first time, while FG Sagittae is undergoing the process a second time. [29]
Sagitta is a dim but distinctive constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for 'arrow', not to be confused with the significantly larger constellation Sagittarius 'the archer'. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Although it dates to antiquity, Sagitta has no star brighter than 3rd magnitude and has the third-smallest area of any constellation.
A planetary nebula is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.
A proplyd, short for ionized protoplanetary disk, is an externally illuminated photoevaporating protoplanetary disk around a young star. Nearly 180 proplyds have been discovered in the Orion Nebula. Images of proplyds in other star-forming regions are rare, while Orion is the only region with a large known sample due to its relative proximity to Earth.
Photoevaporation denotes the process where energetic radiation ionises gas and causes it to disperse away from the ionising source. This typically refers to an astrophysical context where ultraviolet radiation from hot stars acts on clouds of material such as molecular clouds, protoplanetary disks, or planetary atmospheres.
The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) is a region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram populated by evolved cool luminous stars. This is a period of stellar evolution undertaken by all low- to intermediate-mass stars (about 0.5 to 8 solar masses) late in their lives.
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Xi Aquilae, officially named Libertas, is a red-clump giant star located at a distance of 184 light-years from the Sun in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. As of 2008, an extrasolar planet has been confirmed in orbit around the star.
La Superba is a strikingly red giant star in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is a carbon star and semiregular variable.
NGC 6781 is a planetary nebula located in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, about 2.5° east-northeast of the 5th magnitude star 19 Aquilae. It was discovered July 30, 1788 by the Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The nebula lies at a distance of 1,500 ly from the Sun. It has a visual magnitude of 11.4 and spans an angular size of 1.9 × 1.8 arcminutes.
The Quintuplet cluster is a dense cluster of massive young stars about 100 light years from the Galactic Center (GC). Its name comes from the fact it has five prominent infrared sources residing in it. Along with the Arches Cluster it is one of two in the immediate GC region. Due to heavy extinction by dust in the vicinity, it is invisible to optical observation and must be studied in the X-ray, radio, and infrared bands.
FG Sagittae is a supergiant star in the constellation Sagitta at a distance of 4000 light-years. When first noted in 1943, it was identified to be a variable star, and it was found to be a hot, blue star of stellar spectral type B in 1955. Since then it has expanded and cooled, becoming a yellow G-type star by 1991, and then further cooling to become an orange K-type star. It started to pulsate when becoming an A-type star with a period of 15 days. This period later increased to over 100 days.
V605 Aquilae, in the constellation Aquila, is the variable central star of the planetary nebula Abell 58. It is a highly unusual hydrogen-deficient carbon-rich star.
Beta Sagittae, Latinized from β Sagittae, is a single star in the northern constellation of Sagitta. It is a faint star but visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.38. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 7.7237 mas as seen from the Gaia satellite, it is located 420 light years from the Sun. The star is moving closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of −22 km/s.
IRC+10420, also known as V1302 Aql, is a yellow hypergiant star located in the constellation of Aquila at a distance of 4-6 kiloparsecs of the Sun.
HD 179821 or V1427 Aquilae is either a post-red supergiant yellow hypergiant or a post-AGB yellow supergiant star in the constellation of Aquila, surrounded by a detached dust shell. It is a semi-regular variable nearing the end of its life.
CK Vulpeculae is an object whose exact nature is unknown. It was once considered to be the oldest reliably-documented nova. It consists of a compact central object surrounded by a bipolar nebula.
An Intermediate Luminosity Optical Transient (ILOT) is an astronomical object which undergoes an optically detectable explosive event with an absolute magnitude (M) brighter than a classical nova (M ~ -8) but fainter than that of a supernova (M ~ -17). That nine magnitude range corresponds to a factor of nearly 4000 in luminosity, so the ILOT class may include a wide variety of objects. The term ILOT first appeared in a 2009 paper discussing the nova-like event NGC 300 OT2008-1. As the term has gained more widespread use, it has begun to be applied to some objects like KjPn 8 and CK Vulpeculae for which no transient event has been observed, but which may have been dramatically affected by an ILOT event in the past. The number of ILOTs known is expected to increase substantially when the Vera C. Rubin Observatory becomes operational.
EL Aquilae, also known as Nova Aquilae 1927 was a nova that appeared in 1927. It was discovered by Max Wolf on photographic plates taken at Heidelberg Observatory on 30 and 31 July 1927 when it had a photographic magnitude of 9. Subsequent searches of plates taken at the Harvard College Observatory showed the nova was fainter than magnitude 11.1 on 8 June 1927 and had flared to magnitude 6.4 on 15 June 1927. It declined from peak brightness at an average rate of 0.105 magnitudes per day, making it a fast nova, and ultimately dimmed to about magnitude 21. The 14.5 magnitude change from peak brightness to quiescence was unusually large for a nova.
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.
HM Sagittae is a dusty-type symbiotic nova in the northern constellation of Sagitta. It was discovered by O. D. Dokuchaeva and colleagues in 1975 when it increased in brightness by six magnitudes. The object displays an emission line spectrum similar to a planetary nebula and was detected in the radio band in 1977. Unlike a classical nova, the optical brightness of this system did not rapidly decrease with time, although it showed some variation. It displays activity in every band of the electromagnetic spectrum from X-ray to radio.