Mu Persei Explained

Mu Persei, Latinised from μ Persei, is a binary star system in the northern constellation of Perseus. It is visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of +4.16. The distance to this system is approximately 900 light-years based on parallax measurements. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +26 km/s.

Mu Persei is a spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 284 days and an eccentricity of about 0.06. The primary component is a yellow G-type supergiant star. With an effective temperature of about and a radius of 53 solar radii, this star has the luminosity of about 2,030 times that of the Sun.[1] The companion is a B-type star with a class of B9.5

Mu Persei is moving through the galaxy at a speed of 35.6 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected galactic orbit carries it between 23,900 and 32,400 light-years from the center of the galaxy.[2]

Mu Persei came closest to the Sun 5.6 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 3.25 from a distance of 600 light-years.[2]

Naming

In Chinese, Chinese: 天船 (Chinese: Tiān Chuán), meaning Celestial Boat, refers to an asterism consisting of μ Persei, η Persei, γ Persei, α Persei, ψ Persei, δ Persei, 48 Persei and HD 27084. Consequently, μ Persei itself is known as Chinese: 天船七 (Chinese: Tiān Chuán qī, English: the Seventh Star of Celestial Boat).[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/muper.html MU PER (Mu Persei)
  2. http://www.astrostudio.org/xhip.php?hip=19812 Mu Persei (HIP 19812)
  3. AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 7 月 11 日