Not to be confused with Rho Cassiopeiae.

R Cassiopeiae is a variable star in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia. It is located approximately 570 light years distant from the Sun, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −23 km/s.[1] This is a pulsating Mira-type variable star with a brightness that varies from magnitude +4.4 down to +13.5 over a period of 433.6 days.[2] At its maximum brightness, R Cassiopeiae is visible to the naked eye as a faint, red-hued star.

Norman Robert Pogson discovered the star, in 1853.[3][4] This aging red giant star has a stellar classification that varies from M6e to M10e,[2] where the 'e' suffix indicates emission features in the spectrum. Currently on the asymptotic giant branch,[5] it has 59%[6] of the mass of the Sun with an oxygen rich chemical abundance.[7] Having exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core, the star has expanded to 263[6] times the Sun's radius. On average, the star is radiating 3,837[6] times the luminosity of the Sun from its swollen photosphere with an effective temperature ranging around 2,812 K.[6] It is losing mass at the rate of 1.3×10-6 /yr−1[8] and is surrounded by a dusty circumstellar shell that extends out to 2.8 arcminute.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Famaey, B. et al. (January 2005). "Local kinematics of K and M giants from CORAVEL/Hipparcos/Tycho-2 data. Revisiting the concept of superclusters". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 430 (1): 165–186. arXiv:astro-ph/0409579. Bibcode:2005A&A...430..165F. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041272. S2CID 17804304
  2. ^ Samus, N. N. et al. (2017). "General Catalogue of Variable Stars". Astronomy Reports. 61 (1): 80–88. 5.1. Bibcode:2017ARep...61...80S. doi:10.1134/S1063772917010085. S2CID 125853869
  3. ^ Cannon, Annie J. (1907). "Second catalogue of variable stars". Annals of Harvard College Observatory. 55: 1–94. Bibcode:1907AnHar..55....1C
  4. ^ Toone, John (2010). "British variable star associations, 1848-1908". J. Br. Astron. Assoc.. 120 (3): 135–151. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  5. ^ Assaf, K. A. (December 2018). "Multi-epoch Proper Motion Magnetic Field Comparison of SiO Masers around R Cas". The Astrophysical Journal. 869 (1): 19. Bibcode:2018ApJ...869...80A. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaea65. 80.
  6. ^ Takeuti, Mine et al. (2013). "A Method to Estimate the Masses of Asymptotic Giant Branch Variable Stars". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 65 (3): 60. Bibcode:2013PASJ...65...60T. doi:10.1093/pasj/65.3.60
  7. ^ Ueta, T. et al. (May 2010). "The interface between the stellar wind and interstellar medium around R Cassiopeiae revealed by far-infrared imaging". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 514: 6. arXiv:0911.4918. Bibcode:2010A&A...514A..16U. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913455. S2CID 54745858. A16.
  8. ^ McDonald, I.; De Beck, E.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Lagadec, E. (2018). "Pulsation-triggered dust production by asymptotic giant branch stars". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 481 (4): 4984. arXiv:1809.07965. Bibcode:2018MNRAS.481.4984M. doi:10.1093/mnras/sty2607. S2CID 118969263