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.[3] During the primary eclipse, the brightness of the system drops to magnitude 11.03, then to 10.97 during the secondary minimum.[3] The secondary eclipse is total.[7] Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 730 light years from the Sun.[2]
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Right ascension | 03h 48m 13.436s[2] |
| Declination | +22° 18′ 50.92″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.5 (-11.03)[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | G2[4] |
| Variable type | W UMa[3] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 71.95±1.22[5] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +69.758 mas/yr[2] Dec.: −30.628 mas/yr[2] |
| Parallax (π) | 4.4694 ± 0.0171 mas[2] |
| Distance | 730 ± 3 ly (223.7 ± 0.9 pc) |
| Orbit[6] | |
| Period (P) | 0.341348 d |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 2.48±0.03 R☉[7] |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.00 |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2,451,183.9 HJD |
| Semi-amplitude (K1) (primary) | 112.41±1.43 km/s |
| Semi-amplitude (K2) (secondary) | 254.38±2.42 km/s |
| Details | |
| Primary | |
| Mass | 1.22±0.04[7] M☉ |
| Radius | 1.14±0.01[7] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 1.32±0.03[7] L☉ |
| Temperature | 5,800±100[7] K |
| Secondary | |
| Mass | 0.54±0.02[7] M☉ |
| Radius | 0.79±0.01[7] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 0.63±0.02[7] L☉ |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
The star HV 6189 was identified as a short-period variable by H. Shapley and E. M. Hughes in 1940,[9] then was more closely studied by Soviet astronomer V. P. Tsesevich in 1954.[6] It was determined to be a W UMa-type variable and was noted for being located in the region of the Pleiades open cluster.[10] An analysis of data from Tsesevich and subsequent observations by B. S. Whitney in 1972 suggested that the period is variable. His observations from Konkoly Observatory showed a period of 8.19 h.[11] W. R. Benbow and R. L. Mutel built a light curve of the eclipsing variable in 1995 that displayed evidence of an active region on the stellar surface.[12] Orbital period changes continued to be observed, and in 2002 T. Pribulla and M. Vanko suggested it is caused by a third body in the system. They modeled it as a low mass red dwarf with an orbital period of 50.2 years.[13]
This is a shallow contact binary system,[7] belonging to sub-type A of the W Ursae Majoris class.[3] It has an orbital period of 8.1924 hours[6] and a semimajor axis of 2.48 times the radius of the Sun. The orbit shows a cyclical change with a period of 22.7 years and an amplitude of 0.0058 days. A transit-like event was observed in 2010.[7] The more massive component is a solar-type star with a deep convection zone that appears magnetically active with a significant coverage of star spots.[4]
References
edit- ^ "ASAS-SN Variable Stars Database". ASAS-SN Variable Stars Database. ASAS-SN. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 649: A1. arXiv:2012.01533. Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657. S2CID 227254300. (Erratum: doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657e). Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
- ^ a b c d e Samus', N. N; et al. (2017), "General catalogue of variable stars", Astronomy Reports, GCVS 5.1, 61 (1): 80, Bibcode:2017ARep...61...80S, doi:10.1134/S1063772917010085, S2CID 125853869.
- ^ a b Yuan, Jinzhao; Qian, Shengbang (October 2007), "Variation of the period and light curves of the solar-type contact binary EQ Tauri", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 381 (2): 602–610, Bibcode:2007MNRAS.381..602Y, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11926.x.
- ^ Bilir, S.; et al. (2005), "Kinematics of W Ursae Majoris type binaries and evidence of the two types of formation", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 357 (2): 497–517, arXiv:astro-ph/0411291, Bibcode:2005MNRAS.357..497B, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08609.x, S2CID 16274339.
- ^ a b c Rucinski, Slavek M.; et al. (October 2001), "Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. V.", The Astronomical Journal, 122 (4): 1974–1980, arXiv:astro-ph/0106160, Bibcode:2001AJ....122.1974R, doi:10.1086/323106.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Li, K.; et al. (May 2014), "The Triple Binary Star EQ Tau with an Active Component", The Astronomical Journal, 147 (5): 8, Bibcode:2014AJ....147...98L, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/147/5/98, S2CID 123566937, 98.
- ^ "EQ Tau", SIMBAD, Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg, retrieved 2022-03-13.
- ^ Shapley, Harlow; Hughes, Emily M. (1940), "Variable stars in high galactic latitudes", Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College, 90 (4): 163–175, Bibcode:1940AnHar..90..163S.
- ^ Artiukhina, N. M. (1961), "Proper Motions of three W UMa Type Stars in the Pleiades Region", Peremennye Zvezdy (in Russian), 13: 366, Bibcode:1961PZ.....13..366A.
- ^ Whitney, B. S. (February 1972), "The Period of EQ Tauri", Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 633 (1): 1, Bibcode:1972IBVS..633....1W.
- ^ Benbow, W. R.; Mutel, R. L. (May 1995), "Eclipse Observations of EQ Tau", Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 4187 (1): 1, Bibcode:1995IBVS.4187....1B.
- ^ Pribulla, T.; Vanko, M. (April 2002), "Photoelectric photometry of eclipsing contact binaries: U Peg, YY CrB, OU Ser and EQ Tau", Contributions of the Astronomical Observatory Skalnate Pleso, 32 (1): 79–98, Bibcode:2002CoSka..32...79P.
Further reading
edit- Tvardovskyi, D. E. (January 2020), "Third components with elliptical orbits in the eclipsing binaries: EQ Tau, IR Cas, IV Cas, RY Aqr & RZ Com", Annales Astronomiae Novae, 1: 231–238, arXiv:1912.12639, Bibcode:2020AANv....1..231T.
- Hasanzadeh, A.; et al. (January 2015), "New light curve analysis and period changes of the overcontact binary EQ Tauri", New Astronomy, 34: 262–265, Bibcode:2015NewA...34..262H, doi:10.1016/j.newast.2014.07.013.
- Elkhateeb, M. M.; Nouh, M. I. (2014), "A holistic study of the eclipsing binary EQ Tau" (PDF), Journal of Physics and Astronomy Research, 1 (3): 15, arXiv:1406.1661, retrieved 2022-03-13.[dead link]
- Alton, K. B. (December 2009), "A Multi-year Multi-passband CCD Photometric Study of the W UMa Binary EQ Tauri", The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, 37 (2): 148, Bibcode:2009JAVSO..37..148A.
- Hrivnak, Bruce J.; Lu, Wenxian; Eaton, Jeffery; Kenning, Daniel (August 2006), "Light-Curve Study and Physical Properties of the Contact Binary EQ Tauri", The Astronomical Journal, 132 (2): 960–966, Bibcode:2006AJ....132..960H, doi:10.1086/505691, S2CID 120523899.
- Alton, Kevin B. (June 2006), "A Backyard CCD Photometric Study of the Neglected W UMa Binary EQ Tauri", Open European Journal on Variable Stars, 39: 1, Bibcode:2006OEJV...39....1A.
- Vaňko, M.; et al. (2004), "New Parameters of the Contact Binary Systems YY CRB and EQ Tau", Baltic Astronomy, 13: 151–155, Bibcode:2004BaltA..13..151V.
- Yang, Yulan; Liu, Qingyao (December 2002), "A Photometric Study of the Contact Binary EQ Tauri", The Astronomical Journal, 124 (6): 3358–3363, Bibcode:2002AJ....124.3358Y, doi:10.1086/344763, S2CID 123447240.
- Qian, Shengbang; Ma, Yuan (June 2001), "Period Studies of Some Neglected Close Binaries: EP Andromedae, V724 Aquilae, SS Comae, AM Eridani, FZ Orionis, BY Pegasi, EQ Tauri, and NO Vulpeculae", The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 113 (784): 754–763, Bibcode:2001PASP..113..754Q, doi:10.1086/320808, S2CID 121169370.
- Buckner, M.; et al. (February 1998), "Eclipse Timing Observations of Three Close Binaries", Information Bulletin on Variable Stars, 4559 (1): 1, Bibcode:1998IBVS.4559....1B.