Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Cassiopeia |
Right ascension | 23h 00m 05.101221s [2] |
Declination | +56° 56′ 43.3509″ [2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | +4.6 - +6.1 [3] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | G0Ia0 (K5Ia0 - A6Ia+ [4] ) [5] |
U−B color index | +1.33 [6] |
B−V color index | +1.0 - +1.7 [5] |
Variable type | SRd [3] |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | −50.20 [7] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: −3.013 mas/yr [2] Dec.: −2.213 mas/yr [2] |
Parallax (π) | 0.2507 ± 0.0633 mas [2] |
Distance | 12,400+2,100 −2,600 ly (3,800+640 −800 pc) [8] |
Absolute magnitude (MV) | −8.6 (variable) [5] |
Details | |
Mass | 10.6 or 19.6 [5] M☉ |
Radius | 511±112 [9] R☉ |
Luminosity | 269,000 [10] 178,000 –240,000 [11] 400,000 [5] L☉ |
Temperature | 5,000–5,300 [11] K |
Metallicity [Fe/H] | 0.0 [12] dex |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
V509 Cassiopeiae (V509 Cas or HR 8752) is one of two yellow hypergiant stars found in the constellation Cassiopeia, which also contains Rho Cassiopeiae.
HR 8752 is around 12,400 light-years from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude that has varied from below +6 in historical times to a peak of +4.6 and now around +5.3 and is classified as a semiregular variable star of type SRd. It is undergoing strong mass loss as part of its rapid evolution and has recently passed partway through the yellow evolutionary void by ejecting around a solar mass of material in 20 years. [5]
A hot main sequence companion (B1V) was described in 1978 on the basis of a colour excess in the ultraviolet.
HR 8752 is a naked eye star but it has no Bayer or Flamsteed designation, and is not recorded in other catalogues before the 19th century. When first recorded in the Radcliffe Observatory catalogue in 1840 it was 6th magnitude, and it is assumed it had been 6th magnitude or fainter before then. The star is slightly variable on a timescale of around a year, but the average brightness increased steadily, reaching magnitude 5.0 in the 1950s. [3] [13]
The brightness climbed to magnitude 4.75 by 1973, but the exact onset of this event was not well observed. [14] Since then the star has been studied much more closely. It peaked at magnitude 4.6 in 1976, then dropped quickly to magnitude 4.9 by 1979, then oscillated between magnitudes 4.75 and 4.85 for the next decade. Since then the brightness has generally decreased, with somewhat irregular variations of less than a tenth of a magnitude, to magnitude 5.3 in 2000 and may have stabilised at that level. [3]
There are possible historical records of new stars in Cassiopeia that could correspond to earlier outbursts of HR 8752, but the association is highly speculative. [5]
Spectral types and colour comparisons for HR 8752 have been made regularly for over a century. The star was recognised as somewhat unusual and probably highly luminous, but not variable. It was actually proposed as a spectral standard for type G0Ia. [15]
The colour of the star as measured by the difference between blue and visual magnitudes (B−V) may have decreased slightly from about 1.2 in 1900 to 0.8 in the 1960s. Measurements in different eras are not always calibrated to the same spectral bands, and the values have to be de-reddened to account for interstellar extinction, but the small change corresponds to records of the spectrum and are considered to be real. The colour then reddened dramatically to a B−V value of as much as 1.6 magnitudes in 1973, dropped rapidly to 0.02 by 2000, and has remained about constant since then. The detailed observations available since 1960 also show rapid colour variations of about 0.2 magnitudes on scales of 1–5 years super-imposed on the overall trends. [5]
The spectral type over the same period has changed from a G0 hypergiant at the start of the 20th century, to early K in 1973, then rapidly back to G0 by 1977, continuing to reach A6 Ia+ in 2011. These spectral types are compatible with the observed colour changes, indicating changes in the temperature of the star or its dense winds. The spectrum contains nitrogen and helium emission lines with unusual P Cygni profiles, including "inverse P Cygni" and double-peaked line profiles. Forbidden NII lines and a triple-peaked Hα line have strengthened dramatically since 1993, and the profiles have also changed indicating developments in circumstellar material probably ejected from the star. [4]
It appears that HR 8752 is not just varying in brightness and fluctuating in temperature and size like most unstable stars, but is actually undergoing a secular evolutionary shift from cooler to hotter temperatures.
The temperature can be estimated with some accuracy from the spectral and colour observations. The calculated effective temperature increased from 4,500K in 1900 to 5,000K in 1960. At that stage the luminosity was around 243,000 L☉ and the radius 680 R☉.
The star then varied erratically until 1973 when it rapidly expanded and cooled. A detailed spectral analysis in 1977 reported a temperature low of 4,000K, with a peak luminosity in 1976 of 400,000 L☉ with a radius of over 900 R☉. The surface gravity at this time was calculated to be log(g) = -2, indicating that the visible surface was effectively detached from the star. The star then rapidly returned to around its previous temperature of 5,000K, a luminosity of 316,000 L☉, and radius of 776 R☉. [16]
Starting in 1985, HR 8752 began a startling change, increasing in temperature to around 8,000K and decreasing in size to 400 R☉ by 2000, with a luminosity of 213,000 L☉. Since then the physical parameters have been more stable although the stellar wind continues to change. The surface gravity has returned to a more normal value for a luminous supergiant near log(g) = 1.0. This change means that in a few decades the star has passed through a region of instability on the H–R diagram where no stars are observed, an evolutionary change that has not been observed in any other star. [5]
In 2009, the star's angular diameter was measured at 1.245±0.032 milliarcseconds, [17] translating to a physical radius of 511±112 R☉ at its estimated distance. [9]
Elemental abundances derived from the spectrum indicate approximately solar metallicity, although some elements are enhanced due to the evolutionary state of HR 8752. [16] [18]
Prior to 1973, HR 8752 was a cool yellow hypergiant with an early G spectral type. Following a dramatic shedding of its outer layers, it has now jumped to mid-A hypergiant and is not expected to return to its cool state. Models of a 25-40 M☉ main sequence [lower-alpha 1] star show it crossing the "yellow evolutionary void" instability region first towards cooler temperatures, then later back towards hotter temperatures. The yellow evolutionary void is named because very few stars are found in that part of the H–R diagram. This is likely to be because the evolution of stars with such parameters is extremely rapid, perhaps even almost instant in astronomical terms. [5]
The first crossing of the yellow evolutionary void is very rapid but the star does not experience major instability. The second crossing, returning to hotter temperatures after a time as a yellow hypergiant, involves crossing a region, or possibly two regions, where the star experiences major instability, expected to show as episodes of strong mass loss. HR 8752 has crossed the first of the two major zones of instability and is expected to migrate to even hotter temperatures over a timescale on the order of a thousand years. Based on its current observed state, HR 8752 is estimated to now have 11 M☉ left from an initial 25 M☉ and is likely to become a relatively low-luminosity luminous blue variable before evolving further into a Wolf–Rayet star. [5]
The ultimate fate of all massive stars is a core collapse and some sort of supernova explosion. Below about 20 M☉ this is expected to occur as a type II supernova from a red supergiant progenitor. More massive stars evolve into Wolf–Rayet stars before exploding as a type Ib or Ic supernova. For some intermediate range of masses, stars are thought to undergo core collapse at the yellow hypergiant or LBV stage of their lives, resulting in a type IIb or perhaps IIn supernova. HR 8752 may be such a star, and may never make it beyond its current evolutionary state before exploding. [19]
HR 8752 may have a companion. Measurements of the ultraviolet spectral distribution show an excess that corresponds to the output of a B1 main-sequence star. The absolute magnitude was estimated at -4.5, approximately 40 times fainter than the primary at visual wavelengths. Although the stars must be fairly close (< 1400AU), no radial velocity variations have been detected in the spectral lines of the primary, and no lines are observed which can be attributed directly to the secondary. The observed spectrum may be mostly from a shell surrounding both stars. [20] It has been suggested that some variations in spectral line profiles are caused by variations in colliding winds or disturbances of previously ejected material, caused during a periastron passage of the companion. [4]
Supergiants are among the most massive and most luminous stars. Supergiant stars occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram with absolute visual magnitudes between about −3 and −8. The temperature range of supergiant stars spans from about 3,400 K to over 20,000 K.
Red supergiants (RSGs) are stars with a supergiant luminosity class and a stellar classification K or M. They are the largest stars in the universe in terms of volume, although they are not the most massive or luminous. Betelgeuse and Antares A are the brightest and best known red supergiants (RSGs), indeed the only first magnitude red supergiant stars.
Cassiopeia is a constellation and asterism in the northern sky named after the vain queen Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda, in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. Cassiopeia was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape, formed by five bright stars.
A blue supergiant (BSG) is a hot, luminous star, often referred to as an OB supergiant. They are usually considered to be those with luminosity class I and spectral class B9 or earlier, although sometimes A-class supergiants are also deemed blue supergiants.
Rho Cassiopeiae is a yellow hypergiant star in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is about 8,150 light-years (2,500 pc) from Earth, yet can still be seen by the naked eye as it is over 300,000 times brighter than the Sun. On average it has an absolute magnitude of −9.5, making it visually one of the most luminous stars known. Recently imaged and measured by the CHARA array in 2024, its diameter measures between 564 and 700 times that of the Sun, approximately 879,000,000 kilometers, or 2.6 to 3.3 times the size of Earth's orbit.
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are rare, massive and evolved stars that show unpredictable and sometimes dramatic variations in their spectra and brightness. They are also known as S Doradus variables after S Doradus, one of the brightest stars of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Phi Cassiopeiae is a multiple star in the constellation Cassiopeia with a combined apparent magnitude of +4.95. The two brightest components are A and C, sometimes called φ1 and φ2 Cas. φ Cas A is an F0 bright supergiant of magnitude 4.95 and φ Cas C is a 7.08 magnitude B6 supergiant at 134".
A yellow hypergiant (YHG) is a massive star with an extended atmosphere, a spectral class from A to K, and, starting with an initial mass of about 20–60 solar masses, has lost as much as half that mass. They are amongst the most visually luminous stars, with absolute magnitude (MV) around −9, but also one of the rarest, with just 20 known in the Milky Way and six of those in just a single cluster. They are sometimes referred to as cool hypergiants in comparison with O- and B-type stars, and sometimes as warm hypergiants in comparison with red supergiants.
A yellow supergiant (YSG) is a star, generally of spectral type F or G, having a supergiant luminosity class. They are stars that have evolved away from the main sequence, expanding and becoming more luminous.
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A hypergiant (luminosity class 0 or Ia+) is a very rare type of star that has an extremely high luminosity, mass, size and mass loss because of its extreme stellar winds. The term hypergiant is defined as luminosity class 0 (zero) in the MKK system. However, this is rarely seen in literature or in published spectral classifications, except for specific well-defined groups such as the yellow hypergiants, RSG (red supergiants), or blue B(e) supergiants with emission spectra. More commonly, hypergiants are classed as Ia-0 or Ia+, but red supergiants are rarely assigned these spectral classifications. Astronomers are interested in these stars because they relate to understanding stellar evolution, especially star formation, stability, and their expected demise as supernovae. Notable examples of hypergiants include the Pistol Star, a blue hypergiant located close to the Galactic Center and one of the most luminous stars known; Rho Cassiopeiae, a yellow hypergiant that is one of the brightest to the naked eye; and Mu Cephei (Herschel's "Garnet Star"), one of the largest and brightest stars known.
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