MWC 480 is a single[4] star, about 500 light-years away in the constellation of Auriga. It is located in the Taurus-Auriga Star-Forming Region.[8] The name refers to the Mount Wilson Catalog of B and A stars with bright hydrogen lines in their spectra.[9] With an apparent magnitude of 7.62,[3] it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye.

MWC 480

A visual band light curve for MWC 480, plotted from ASAS-SN data[1]
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Auriga
Right ascension 04h 58m 46.2654s[2]
Declination +29° 50′ 36.990″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 7.62[3]
Characteristics
Spectral type A3psh3+[4]
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ) RA: 4.793[2] mas/yr
Dec.: -25.348[2] mas/yr
Parallax (π)6.1815 ± 0.0761 mas[2]
Distance528 ± 6 ly
(162 ± 2 pc)
Details
Mass1.7-2.3[5] M
Radius1.67[4] R
Luminosity11.2[4] L
Temperature8250[3] K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)102.0 ± 5.0[6] km/s
Age6–7.1[5] Myr
Other designations
BD+29 774, HD 31648, HIP 23143, SAO 76866, GSC 01844-00503, 2MASS J04584626+2950370[7]
Database references
SIMBADdata

Properties

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Artist impression of the protoplanetary disc surrounding MWC 480.

MWC 480 is a young Herbig Ae/Be star, a class of young stars with spectral types of A or B, but are quite young and are still not main-sequence stars. MWC 480 is about 7 million years old.[5] It is about twice the mass of the Sun,[5] and is estimated to be about 1.67 solar radii.[4]

MWC 480 has X-ray emissions typical of a pre-main-sequence Herbig Ae/Be star but with an order of magnitude more photoelectric absorption.[4] It has a gas-dust envelope and is surrounded by a protoplanetary disc that is about 11% the mass of the Sun.[5] The disc is inclined about 37° towards the line of sight, on a position angle of about 148°.[5] Astronomers using the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) have found that the protoplanetary disc surrounding MWC 480 contains large amounts of methyl cyanide (CH3CN), a complex carbon-based molecule.[10] Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) has also been detected in the disc.[11] No signs of planet formation have yet been detected.

Planetary system

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In 2021, an imaging of the gas flows in the circumstellar disk has suggested a presence of shrouded Jupiter-mass planet about 245 AU from the star.[12]

References

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Sky around the young star MWC 480
  1. ^ "ASAS-SN Variable Stars Database". ASAS-SN Variable Stars Database. ASAS-SN. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e 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.
  3. ^ a b c Mendigutía, I.; Mora, A.; Montesinos, B.; Eiroa, C.; Meeus, G.; Merín, B.; Oudmaijer, R. D. (2012). "Accretion-related properties of Herbig Ae/Be stars". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 543: A59. arXiv:1205.4734. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219110. S2CID 59384870.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Grady, C. A.; Hamaguchi, K.; Schneider, G.; Stecklum, B.; Woodgate, B. E.; McCleary, J. E.; Williger, G. M.; Sitko, M. L.; Ménard, F.; Henning, Th.; Brittain, S.; Troutmann, M.; Donehew, B.; Hines, D.; Wisniewski, J. P.; Lynch, D. K.; Russell, R. W.; Rudy, R. J.; Day, A. N.; Shenoy, A.; Wilner, D.; Silverstone, M.; Bouret, J.-C.; Meusinger, H.; Clampin, M.; Kim, S.; Petre, R.; Sahu, M.; Endres, M.; Collins, K. A. (2010). "Locating the Accretion Footprint on a Herbig Ae Star: MWC 480". The Astrophysical Journal. 719 (2): 1565–1581. Bibcode:2010ApJ...719.1565G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/719/2/1565. hdl:2060/20110023025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Loomis, Ryan A.; Öberg, Karin I.; Andrews, Sean M.; Bergin, Edwin; Bergner, Jennifer; Blake, Geoffrey A.; Cleeves, L. Ilsedore; Czekala, Ian; Huang, Jane; Le Gal, Romane; Ménard, Francois; Pegues, Jamila; Qi, Chunhua; Walsh, Catherine; Williams, Jonathan P.; Wilner, David J. (2020). "An Unbiased ALMA Spectral Survey of the Lk Ca 15 and MWC 480 Protoplanetary Disks". The Astrophysical Journal. 893 (2): 101. arXiv:2006.16187. Bibcode:2020ApJ...893..101L. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab7cc8. S2CID 219077531.
  6. ^ Mora, A.; Merín, B.; Solano, E.; Montesinos, B.; De Winter, D.; Eiroa, C.; Ferlet, R.; Grady, C. A.; Davies, J. K.; Miranda, L. F.; Oudmaijer, R. D.; Palacios, J.; Quirrenbach, A.; Harris, A. W.; Rauer, H.; Collier Cameron, A.; Deeg, H. J.; Garzón, F.; Penny, A.; Schneider, J.; Tsapras, Y.; Wesselius, P. R. (2001). "EXPORT: Spectral classification and projected rotational velocities of Vega-type and pre-main sequence stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 378: 116. Bibcode:2001A&A...378..116M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011098.
  7. ^ "HD 31648". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. ^ K. L. Luhman; et al. (2010). "The Disk Population of the Taurus Star-Forming Region". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 186 (1): 111–174. arXiv:0911.5457. Bibcode:2010ApJS..186..111L. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/186/1/111. S2CID 119189843.
  9. ^ "Catalog of Resolved Circumstellar Disks". Circumstellardisks.org. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  10. ^ "Complex Organic Molecules Discovered in Infant Star System". Eso.org. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  11. ^ "Complex Organic Molecules Discovered Around Star MWC 480". Science 2.0. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  12. ^ Teague, Richard; Bae, Jaehan; Aikawa, Yuri; Andrews, Sean M.; Bergin, Edwin A.; Bergner, Jennifer B.; Boehler, Yann; Booth, Alice S.; Bosman, Arthur D.; Cataldi, Gianni; Czekala, Ian; Guzmán, Viviana V.; Huang, Jane; Ilee, John D.; Law, Charles J.; Le Gal, Romane; Long, Feng; Loomis, Ryan A.; Ménard, François; Öberg, Karin I.; Pérez, Laura M.; Schwarz, Kamber R.; Sierra, Anibal; Walsh, Catherine; Wilner, David J.; Yamato, Yoshihide; Zhang, Ke (2021), "Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XVIII. Kinematic Substructures in the Disks of HD 163296 and MWC 480", The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 257 (1): 18, arXiv:2109.06218, Bibcode:2021ApJS..257...18T, doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ac1438, S2CID 237504930
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  •   Media related to MWC 480 at Wikimedia Commons