Omicron Persei Explained

Omicron Persei (ο Persei, abbreviated Omicron Per, ο Per) is a triple star system in the constellation of Perseus. From parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission it is approximately 1,100 light-years (330 parsecs) from the Sun.

The system consists of a spectroscopic binary pair designated Omicron Persei A and a third companion Omicron Persei B.[1] A's two components are themselves designated Omicron Persei Aa (officially named Atik, the traditional name of the system)[2] [3] and Ab.

Etymology

ο Persei (Latinised to Omicron Persei) is the system's Bayer designation. The designations of the two constituents as Omicron Persei A and B, and those of A's components - Omicron Persei Aa and Ab - derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).[4]

It bore the traditional name Atik (also Ati, Al Atik), Arabic for "the shoulder". Some sources attribute the name Atik to the nearby, brighter star Zeta Persei.[5] [6] In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.[7] It approved the name Atik for the component Omicron Persei A on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[3]

In Chinese, Chinese: 卷舌 (Chinese: Juǎn Shé), meaning Rolled Tongue, refers to an asterism consisting of Omicron Persei, Nu Persei, Epsilon Persei, Xi Persei, Zeta Persei and 40 Persei.[8] Consequently, the Chinese name for Omicron Persei itself is Chinese: 卷舌五 (Chinese: Juǎn Shé wu), "the Fifth Star of Rolled Tongue".[9]

Properties

Omicron Persei A is a spectroscopic binary consisting of a spectral type B1 giant and a type B2 dwarf orbiting each other every 4.4 days. The orbit is near-circular although its inclination is not precisely known. The two stars are separated by approximately, the exact value depending on the inclination. The primary is approximately one magnitude brighter than the secondary at visual wavelengths. The binary pair forms a rotating ellipsoidal variable star, which varies in brightness from visual magnitude 3.79 to 3.88 during the orbital period.[10]

Omicron Persei lies just north of the open cluster IC 348, but is not catalogued as a member. Both IC 348 and Omicron Persei belong to the Perseus OB2 association.[11]

Culture

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Displaying next number in catalog HIP => 17448 . Multiple Star Catalog . 2018-02-19.
  2. Book: Kunitzsch . Paul . Smart . Tim . 2006 . 2nd rev. . A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations . Sky Pub . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 978-1-931559-44-7.
  3. Web site: Naming Stars . IAU.org . 16 December 2017.
  4. On the naming convention used for multiple star systems and extrasolar planets . 2010 . 1012.0707 . astro-ph.SR . Hessman . F. V. . Dhillon . V. S. . Winget . D. E. . Schreiber . M. R. . Horne . K. . Marsh . T. R. . Guenther . E. . Schwope . A. . Heber . U. .
  5. Book: Mullaney, James, and Tirion, Wil. The Cambridge Double Star Atlas, Chart 7. 2009. University Press, Cambridge. 978-0-521-49343-7.
  6. http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/catalogues/starname.html Your Sky Object Catalogue: Named Stars
  7. Web site: WG Triennial Report (2015-2018) - Star Names . 5 . 2018-07-14.
  8. 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, .
  9. 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表, Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.
  10. Web site: omi Per . The International Variable Star Index . AAVSO . 18 December 2022.
  11. 2012A&A...537A.135S . X-ray view of IC 348 in the light of an updated cluster census . Astronomy and Astrophysics . 537 . A135 . Stelzer . B. . Preibisch . T. . Alexander . F. . Mucciarelli . P. . Flaccomio . E. . Micela . G. . Sciortino . S. . 2012 . 1111.4420 . 10.1051/0004-6361/201118118 .
  12. Web site: Omicron Persei 8 meaning explored as hilarious Futurama memes spread . The Focus . 9 October 2022 . 30 November 2021.
  13. Web site: How Futurama is related to the new Omicron COVID variant . MARCA . 9 October 2022 . en . 28 November 2021.