Kappa Andromedae, Latinized from κ Andromedae, is the Bayer designation for a bright star in the northern constellation of Andromeda. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.1.[2] Based on the star's ranking on the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, it is luminous enough to be visible from the suburbs and from urban outskirts, but not from brightly lit inner city regions. Parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission place it at a distance of approximately 168 light-years (52 parsecs) from the Sun.[1] It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −15 km/s,[4] and there is a high likelihood (86%) that it is a member of the Beta Pictoris moving group.[11] The star has one known companion exoplanet, Kappa Andromedae b.[12]
  | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Andromeda |
| Right ascension | 23h 40m 24.50763s[1] |
| Declination | +44° 20′ 02.1566″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 4.139[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | B9 IVn[3] |
| U−B color index | -0.221[2] |
| B−V color index | -0.067[2] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | −15.0[4] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +80.73[1] mas/yr Dec.: -18.70[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 19.37 ± 0.19 mas[1] |
| Distance | 168 ± 2 ly (51.6 ± 0.5 pc) |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | +0.59[5] |
| Details | |
| Mass | 2.768+0.1 −0.109[6] M☉ |
| Radius | 2.29±0.06[7] R☉ |
| Luminosity | 78.5[7] L☉ |
| Surface gravity (log g) | 4.10±0.03[8] cgs |
| Temperature | 11,361±66[8] K |
| Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 176[9] km/s |
| Age | 47+27 −40[6] Myr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Properties
editThe stellar classification of Kappa Andromedae is B9 IVn, indicating that it is a subgiant star in the process of evolving away from the main sequence. The star has an estimated 2.8[6] times the mass of the Sun and is radiating 78.5[7] times the Sun's luminosity. It is spinning rapidly, with a projected rotational velocity of 162 km/s. Its true rotational velocity is 283.8 km/s, which is about 85% of its critical rotation rate (the rate at which it would break up).[6] With such a rapid rotation rate, the star is deformed into an oblate spheroid, such that while the polar radius is 1.959 R☉, the equatorial radius is significantly larger, at 2.303 R☉.[6] The outer envelope of the star is radiating energy into space with an effective temperature of 10,342 K at the equator and 12,050 K at its poles, producing a blue-white hue.[6]
The age of Kappa Andromedae has been the subject of debate. The discovery paper for Kappa Andromedae b[12] argued that the primary's kinematics are consistent with membership in the Columba Association, which would imply a system age of 20-50 million years, while a subsequent work derived an older age of 220±100 million years based on the star's position on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram position [7] assuming that the star is not a fast rotator viewed pole-on. Direct measurements of the star later showed that Kappa Andromedae A is in fact a rapid rotator viewed nearly pole-on[6] and yield a best-estimated age of 47+27
−40 million years.
Planetary system
edit
In November 2012, members of the Strategic Explorations of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) survey reported the discovery of a faint, directly-imaged companion Kappa Andromedae b.[12] Follow-up photometry and spectroscopy of kappa And b with the Subaru Telescope, Keck Observatory, and Large Binocular Telescope constrained its mass to be about 13 Jupiter masses, temperature to be between 1700 K and 2150 K, and orbit to be highly eccentric with a semimajor axis likely greater than about 75 AU. The companion's spectrum shows evidence for water and carbon monoxide molecules and suggests the object has a low surface gravity.[13][14][15]
| Companion (in order from star) |
Mass | Semimajor axis (AU) |
Orbital period (years) |
Eccentricity | Inclination | Radius |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | 13+12 −2 MJ |
57–133AU | 242–900y | 0.69–0.85 | 114.9–140° | — |
Chinese naming
editIn Chinese, 螣蛇 (Téng Shé), meaning Flying Serpent, refers to an asterism consisting of κ Andromedae, α Lacertae, 4 Lacertae, π2 Cygni, π1 Cygni, HD 206267, ε Cephei, β Lacertae, σ Cassiopeiae, ρ Cassiopeiae, τ Cassiopeiae, AR Cassiopeiae, 9 Lacertae, 3 Andromedae, 7 Andromedae, 8 Andromedae, λ Andromedae, ι Andromedae, and ψ Andromedae. Consequently, the Chinese name for κ Andromedae itself is 螣蛇二十一 (Téng Shé èrshíyī, English: the Twenty First Star of Flying Serpent).[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f van Leeuwen, F. (November 2007), "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 474 (2): 653–664, arXiv:0708.1752, Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357, S2CID 18759600
- ^ a b c d Harmanec, P.; et al. (1980), "Photoelectric photometry at the Hvar Observatory. IV - A study of UBV variations of a group of bright northern Be stars", Bulletin of the Astronomical Institutes of Czechoslovakia, Bulletin, 31 (3): 144–159, Bibcode:1980BAICz..31..144H
- ^ Cowley, A.; et al. (April 1969), "A study of the bright A stars. I. A catalogue of spectral classifications", Astronomical Journal, 74: 375–406, Bibcode:1969AJ.....74..375C, doi:10.1086/110819
- ^ a b Palmer, D. R.; et al. (1968), "The radial velocities spectral types and projected rotational velocities of 633 bright northern A stars", Royal Observatory Bulletin, 135: 385, Bibcode:1968RGOB..135..385P
- ^ Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012), "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation", Astronomy Letters, 38 (5): 331, arXiv:1108.4971, Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A, doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015, S2CID 119257644.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jones, Jeremy; et al. (2016). "The Age of the Directly Imaged Planet Host Star κ Andromedae Determined from Interferometric Observations". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 822 (1): 7. arXiv:1604.02176. Bibcode:2016ApJ...822L...3J. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/822/1/L3. S2CID 38367518.
- ^ a b c d Hinkley, Sasha; Pueyo, Laurent; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Oppenheimer, Ben R.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Kraus, Adam L.; Rice, Emily L.; Ireland, Michael J.; David, Trevor; et al. (September 2013). "The Kappa Andromedae System: New Constraints on the Companion Mass, System Age & Further Multiplicity". The Astrophysical Journal. 763 (2): L32. arXiv:1211.3744. Bibcode:2013ApJ...763L..32C. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/763/2/L32. S2CID 119253577.
- ^ a b Fitzpatrick, E. L.; Massa, D. (March 2005), "Determining the Physical Properties of the B Stars. II. Calibration of Synthetic Photometry", The Astronomical Journal, 129 (3): 1642–1662, arXiv:astro-ph/0412542, Bibcode:2005AJ....129.1642F, doi:10.1086/427855, S2CID 119512018
- ^ Royer, F.; Zorec, J.; Gómez, A. E. (February 2007), "Rotational velocities of A-type stars. III. Velocity distributions", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 463 (2): 671–682, arXiv:astro-ph/0610785, Bibcode:2007A&A...463..671R, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065224, S2CID 18475298
- ^ "kap And", SIMBAD, Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg, retrieved 2021-06-01.
- ^ Lee, Jinhee; Song, Inseok (July 2019). "Development of models for nearbaby young stellar moving groups: creation, revision, and finalization of the models". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 486 (3): 3434–3450. arXiv:1904.07157. Bibcode:2019MNRAS.486.3434L. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz1044.
- ^ a b c Carson; et al. (November 2012). "Direct Imaging Discovery of a 'Super-Jupiter' Around the late B-Type Star κ And". The Astrophysical Journal. 763 (2): L32. arXiv:1211.3744. Bibcode:2013ApJ...763L..32C. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/763/2/L32. S2CID 119253577.
- ^ a b Currie, Thayne; et al. (2018), "SCExAO/CHARIS Near-infrared Direct Imaging, Spectroscopy, and Forward-Modeling of κ And b: A Likely Young, Low-gravity Superjovian Companion", The Astrophysical Journal, 156 (6): 291, arXiv:1810.09457, Bibcode:2018AJ....156..291C, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aae9ea, S2CID 119261709}
- ^ Stone, Jordan M.; et al. (December 2020), "High Contrast Thermal Infrared Spectroscopy with ALES: The 3-4μm Spectrum of κ Andromedae b", The Astronomical Journal, 160 (6): 262, arXiv:2010.02928, Bibcode:2020AJ....160..262S, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/abbef3, S2CID 222177297
- ^ Wilcomb, K; et al. (2020), "Moderate-resolution K-band Spectroscopy of Substellar Companion κ Andromedae b", The Astrophysical Journal, 160 (5): 207, arXiv:1810.09457, Bibcode:2020AJ....160..207W, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/abb9b1, S2CID 221802366}
- ^ Uyama, Taichi; et al. (2020), "Atmospheric Characterization and Further Orbital Modeling of κ Andromeda b", The Astrophysical Journal, 159 (2): 40, arXiv:1810.09457, Bibcode:2020AJ....159...40U, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab5afa, S2CID 208248220}
- ^ (in Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 7 日 Archived 2011-05-21 at the Wayback Machine