NEWS@SKY (Science&Space News)
Home     To Survive in the Universe
 .MYA{ color: yellow; text-decoration: none; :hover { color: red; text-decoration: none; } } Services
Why to Inhabit     Top Contributors     Astro Photo     The Collection     Forum     Blog New!     FAQ     Login

# HD 26961

Contents

### Images

DSS Images   Other Images

### Related articles

 MERLIN Astrometry of 11 Radio StarsWe report accurate positions in the International Celestial ReferenceFrame (ICRF) for 11 radio stars. Observations were made using theMulti-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network at a radio frequencyof 5 GHz. The positions are estimated to be accurate at the 5 mas level.Positions were obtained directly in the ICRF by phase referencing theradio stars to ICRF quasars whose positions are estimated to be accurateat the 0.25 mas level. We use our results together with results ofprevious observations to obtain proper-motion estimates for these stars.The average proper-motion uncertainties are 1.1 mas yr-1 inμαcosδ and 1.2 mas yr-1 inμδ, comparable to the Hipparcos values. Observed Orbital EccentricitiesFor 391 spectroscopic and visual binaries with known orbital elementsand having B0-F0 IV or V primaries, we collected the derivedeccentricities. As has been found by others, those binaries with periodsof a few days have been circularized. However, those with periods up toabout 1000 or more days show reduced eccentricities that asymptoticallyapproach a mean value of 0.5 for the longest periods. For those binarieswith periods greater than 1000 days their distribution of eccentricitiesis flat from 0 to nearly 1, indicating that in the formation of binariesthere is no preferential eccentricity. The binaries with intermediateperiods (10-100 days) lack highly eccentric orbits. Astrometric orbits of SB^9 starsHipparcos Intermediate Astrometric Data (IAD) have been used to deriveastrometric orbital elements for spectroscopic binaries from the newlyreleased Ninth Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits(SB^9). This endeavour is justified by the fact that (i) theastrometric orbital motion is often difficult to detect without theprior knowledge of the spectroscopic orbital elements, and (ii) suchknowledge was not available at the time of the construction of theHipparcos Catalogue for the spectroscopic binaries which were recentlyadded to the SB^9 catalogue. Among the 1374 binaries fromSB^9 which have an HIP entry (excluding binaries with visualcompanions, or DMSA/C in the Double and Multiple Stars Annex), 282 havedetectable orbital astrometric motion (at the 5% significance level).Among those, only 70 have astrometric orbital elements that are reliablydetermined (according to specific statistical tests), and for the firsttime for 20 systems. This represents a 8.5% increase of the number ofastrometric systems with known orbital elements (The Double and MultipleSystems Annex contains 235 of those DMSA/O systems). The detection ofthe astrometric orbital motion when the Hipparcos IAD are supplementedby the spectroscopic orbital elements is close to 100% for binaries withonly one visible component, provided that the period is in the 50-1000 drange and the parallax is >5 mas. This result is an interestingtestbed to guide the choice of algorithms and statistical tests to beused in the search for astrometric binaries during the forthcoming ESAGaia mission. Finally, orbital inclinations provided by the presentanalysis have been used to derive several astrophysical quantities. Forinstance, 29 among the 70 systems with reliable astrometric orbitalelements involve main sequence stars for which the companion mass couldbe derived. Some interesting conclusions may be drawn from this new setof stellar masses, like the enigmatic nature of the companion to theHyades F dwarf HIP 20935. This system has a mass ratio of 0.98 but thecompanion remains elusive. Tidal Effects in Binaries of Various PeriodsWe found in the published literature the rotational velocities for 162B0-B9.5, 152 A0-A5, and 86 A6-F0 stars, all of luminosity classes V orIV, that are in spectroscopic or visual binaries with known orbitalelements. The data show that stars in binaries with periods of less thanabout 4 days have synchronized rotational and orbital motions. Stars inbinaries with periods of more than about 500 days have the samerotational velocities as single stars. However, the primaries inbinaries with periods of between 4 and 500 days have substantiallysmaller rotational velocities than single stars, implying that they havelost one-third to two-thirds of their angular momentum, presumablybecause of tidal interactions. The angular momentum losses increase withdecreasing binary separations or periods and increase with increasingage or decreasing mass. Statistical Analysis of 5 Year Continuous Radio Flare Data from β Persei, V711 Tauri, δ Librae, and UX ArietisWe report on the longest-running continuous radio flare survey of twoAlgol-type systems (β Per and δ Lib) and two RS CVn systems(V711 Tau and UX Ari). All four systems have late-type components, andall were known to display radio flaring activity. The primary aim of thecampaign was to determine the timescales for flaring activity in thesesystems. The radio continuum flux at 2.3 and 8.3 GHz was monitored withthe NRAO-Green Bank Interferometer from 1995 January to 2000 October.The survey spanned 2096 days with interruptions during maintenance runsand temporary closings of the interferometer. Many strong flares weredetected with continuum fluxes at 8.3 GHz as high as 1.17 Jy in βPer, 1.44 Jy in V711 Tau, and 0.82 Jy in UX Ari. Only two flares weredetected from δ Lib during 1123 days of monitoring, and thecontinuum flux reached a maximum of only 0.034 Jy at 8.3 GHz. Theindependent techniques of Power Spectrum Analysis and Phase DispersionMinimization were used to determine the periodicity of flaring activityin each binary. The strongest periodicities found were 48.9+/-1.7 daysfor β Per, 120.7+/-3.4 days for V711 Tau, and 141.4+/-4.5 days forUX Ari, with other significant periodicities of 80.8+/-2.5 days for V711Tau and 52.6+/-0.7 days for UX Ari. In the case of δ Lib, thestrongest periodicities were related to the duration of the twomonitoring cycles within the data set and are not real. The continuoussurvey has demonstrated that there are active and quiescent flaringcycles in V711 Tau and β Per. During both of these cycles, βPer had more flares than V711 Tau, but its strongest flares weretypically weaker than those of V711 Tau. Apsidal Motion in Binaries: Rotation of the ComponentsA sample of 51 separated binary systems with measured apsidal periodsand rotational velocities of the components is examined. The ranges ofthe angles of inclination of the equatorial planes of the components tothe orbital plane are estimated for these systems. The observed apsidalvelocities can be explained by assuming that the axes of rotation of thestars are nonorthogonal to the orbital plane in roughly 47% of thesystems (24 of the 51) and the rotation of the components is notsynchronized with the orbital motion in roughly 59% of the systems (30of 51). Nonorthogonality and nonsynchrony are defined as deviations from90° and a synchronized angular velocity, respectively, at levels of1 or more. Astrometric Positions and Proper Motions of 19 Radio StarsWe have used the Very Large Array, linked with the Pie Town Very LongBaseline Array antenna, to determine the astrometric positions of 19radio stars in the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). Thepositions of these stars were directly linked to the positions ofdistant quasars through phase-referencing observations. The positions ofthe ICRF quasars are known to 0.25 mas, thus providing an absolutereference at the angular resolution of our radio observations. Averagevalues for the errors in our derived positions for all sources were 13and 16 mas in αcosδ and δ, respectively, withaccuracies approaching 1-2 mas for some of the stars observed.Differences between the ICRF positions of the 38 quasars and thosemeasured from our observations showed no systematic offsets, with meanvalues of -0.3 mas in αcosδ and -1.0 mas in δ.Standard deviations of the quasar position differences of 17 and 11 masin αcosδ and δ, respectively, are consistent with themean position errors determined for the stars. Our measured positionswere combined with previous Very Large Array measurements taken from1978 to 1995 to determine the proper motions of 15 of the stars in ourlist. With mean errors of ~1.6 mas yr-1, the accuracies ofour proper motions approach those derived from Hipparcos and, for a fewof the stars in our program, are better than the Hipparcos values.Comparing the positions of our radio stars with the Hipparcos Catalogue,we find that at the epoch of our observations, the two frames arealigned to within formal errors of approximately 3 mas. This resultconfirms that the Hipparcos frame is inertial at the expected level. VLA Radio Positions of Stars: 1978-1995VLA astrometric positions of the radio emission from 52 stars arereported, from observations obtained between 1978 and 1995. Thepositions of these stars have been obtained and reduced in a uniformmanner. Based on our measurements, the offset of the optical (Hipparcos)frame from the radio reference frame is in agreement with the Hipparcosextragalactic link results, within their mean errors. Comparison of theVLA measurements with the Hipparcos optical positions confirms earlierestimates of the accuracy of these positions as 30 mas. Long-termmeasurements of UX Ari have improved its proper motion. Rotational velocities of A-type stars in the northern hemisphere. II. Measurement of v sin iThis work is the second part of the set of measurements of v sin i forA-type stars, begun by Royer et al. (\cite{Ror_02a}). Spectra of 249 B8to F2-type stars brighter than V=7 have been collected at Observatoirede Haute-Provence (OHP). Fourier transforms of several line profiles inthe range 4200-4600 Å are used to derive v sin i from thefrequency of the first zero. Statistical analysis of the sampleindicates that measurement error mainly depends on v sin i and thisrelative error of the rotational velocity is found to be about 5% onaverage. The systematic shift with respect to standard values fromSlettebak et al. (\cite{Slk_75}), previously found in the first paper,is here confirmed. Comparisons with data from the literature agree withour findings: v sin i values from Slettebak et al. are underestimatedand the relation between both scales follows a linear law ensuremath vsin inew = 1.03 v sin iold+7.7. Finally, thesedata are combined with those from the previous paper (Royer et al.\cite{Ror_02a}), together with the catalogue of Abt & Morrell(\cite{AbtMol95}). The resulting sample includes some 2150 stars withhomogenized rotational velocities. Based on observations made atObservatoire de Haute Provence (CNRS), France. Tables \ref{results} and\ref{merging} are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.125.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/393/897 The comparative accuracy of photographic observations of radio stars observed at the Engelhardt Astronomical ObservatoryAt the Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory (EAO), we observedphotographic positions of 113 Galactic Radio Sources (GRS) in the systemPPM catalogue (Rizvanov & Dautov 1998). Analysis of their accuracyis made by comparison with the Hipparcos catalogue (Perryman et al.1997) and astrometric catalogue of radio stars in the radio window fromthe article of Walter et al. (1991). Table 2 is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/375/670 Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statisticsThe Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521 On the Variability of A0-A2 Luminosity Class III-V StarsWe study the Hipparcos Satellite photometry of A0-A2 luminosity classIII-V stars. Most are not particularly variable. A few stars for whichfurther study is desirable are identified. Dynamical Stability of Triple StarsThe dynamical stability of 38 observed hierarchical triple stars withknown orbital elements of the internal and external binary subsystemsand component masses is considered. Four different criteria of dynamicalstability are used. The observed stability parameters and their criticalvalues are calculated by taking into account errors in the orbitalelements and component masses. Most triple systems are stable. Accordingto some criteria, several triple stars (ADS440, xi Tau, lambda Tau,ADS3358, VV Ori, ADS10157, HZ Her, Gliese 795, ADS15971, and ADS16138)may be dynamically unstable. This result is probably associated withunreliability of the empirical stability criteria and/or with errors inthe observed quantities. Absolute proper motions of open clusters. I. Observational dataMean proper motions and parallaxes of 205 open clusters were determinedfrom their member stars found in the Hipparcos Catalogue. 360 clusterswere searched for possible members, excluding nearby clusters withdistances D < 200 pc. Members were selected using ground basedinformation (photometry, radial velocity, proper motion, distance fromthe cluster centre) and information provided by Hipparcos (propermotion, parallax). Altogether 630 certain and 100 possible members werefound. A comparison of the Hipparcos parallaxes with photometricdistances of open clusters shows good agreement. The Hipparcos dataconfirm or reject the membership of several Cepheids in the studiedclusters. Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Do the physical properties of Ap binaries depend on their orbital elements?We reveal sufficient evidence that the physical characteristics of Apstars are related to binarity. The Ap star peculiarity [represented bythe Δ(V1-G) value and magnetic field strength] diminishes witheccentricity, and it may also increase with orbital period(Porb). This pattern, however, does not hold for largeorbital periods. A striking gap that occurs in the orbital perioddistribution of Ap binaries at 160-600d might well mark a discontinuityin the above-mentioned behaviour. There is also an interestingindication that the Ap star eccentricities are relatively lower thanthose of corresponding B9-A2 normal binaries for Porb>10d.All this gives serious support to the pioneering idea of Abt &Snowden concerning a possible interplay between the magnetism of Apstars and their binarity. Nevertheless, we argue instead in favour ofanother mechanism, namely that it is binarity that affects magnetism andnot the opposite, and suggest the presence of a newmagnetohydrodynamical mechanism induced by the stellar companion andstretching to surprisingly large Porb. A Second Catalog of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 Filter Photometry: Ultraviolet Photometry of 614 StarsUltraviolet photometry from the Wisconsin Experiment Package on theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO 2) is presented for 614 stars.Previously unpublished magnitudes from 12 filter bandpasses withwavelengths ranging from 1330 to 4250 Å have been placed on thewhite dwarf model atmosphere absolute flux scale. The fluxes wereconverted to magnitudes using V=0 for F(V)=3.46x10^-9 ergs cm^-2 s^-1Å^-1, or m_lambda=-2.5logF_lambda-21.15. This second catalogeffectively doubles the amount of OAO 2 photometry available in theliterature and includes many objects too bright to be observed withmodern space observatories. Optical Positions of 44 Radio Stars from Astrolabe ObservationsThe observations made with the photoelectric astrolabe at YunnanObservatory since 1986 have been reprocessed in the Hipparcos Catalogue,and the optical positions of 44 radio stars obtained. These are all thestars in common with the Hipparcos Catalogue. Speckle Interferometry of New and Problem HIPPARCOS BinariesThe ESA Hipparcos satellite made measurements of over 12,000 doublestars and discovered 3406 new systems. In addition to these, 4706entries in the Hipparcos Catalogue correspond to double star solutionsthat did not provide the classical parameters of separation and positionangle (rho,theta) but were the so-called problem stars, flagged G,''O,'' V,'' or X'' (field H59 of the main catalog). An additionalsubset of 6981 entries were treated as single objects but classified byHipparcos as suspected nonsingle'' (flag S'' in field H61), thusyielding a total of 11,687 problem stars.'' Of the many ground-basedtechniques for the study of double stars, probably the one with thegreatest potential for exploration of these new and problem Hipparcosbinaries is speckle interferometry. Results are presented from aninspection of 848 new and problem Hipparcos binaries, using botharchival and new speckle observations obtained with the USNO and CHARAspeckle cameras. Apsidal Motion in Double Stars. I. CatalogA catalog of 128 double stars with measured periods of apsidal motion iscompiled. Besides the apsidal periods, the orbital elements of binariesand physical parameters of components (masses, radii, effectivetemperatures, surface gravities) are given. The agreement of the apsidalperiods found by various authors is discussed. Early Radio Positions of StarsEarly radio positions for a sample of 100 Hipparcos stars, threeTycho-only stars, and nine radio stars with optical positions referredto the Hipparcos/ICRS frame are analyzed. The optical proper motions areused to compare the optical and radio positions. From an original sampleof 247 radio positions for the above 112 stars, a set of 220 showscoincidence between the optical and radio centers of emission closerthan 500 mas. This set is analyzed for systematic departures between theoptical and radio positions. A smaller subset of 136 early radiopositions for 72 stars show radio-minus-optical offsets smaller than 100mas and are useful for monitoring of the spin of the Hipparcos frame. Absolute declinations with the photoelectric astrolabe at Calern Observatory (OCA)A regular observational programme with a photoelectric astrolabe havebeen performed at Observatoire du Calern" (Observatoire de laCôte d'Azur, OCA, phi = +43() o44′55.011″; lambda =-0() h27() m42.44() s, Calern, Caussols, France) for the last twentyyears. It has been almost fully automatized between 1984 and 1987. Since1988 the photoelectric astrolabe was used without any modification. Inaddition to determining the daily orientation of the local vertical, theyearly analysis of the residuals permits to derive corrections to theused star catalogue \cite[(Vigouroux et al. 1992)]{vig92}. A globalreduction method was applied for the ASPHO observations. The new form ofthe equations \cite[(Martin & Leister 1997)]{mar97} give us thepossibility of using the entire set of the observing program using datataken at two zenith distances (30() o and 45() o). The program containsabout 41648 stars' transits of 269 different stars taken atObservatoire du Calern" (OCA). The reduction was based on theHIPPARCOS system. We discuss the possibility of computing absolutedeclinations through stars belonging simultaneously to the 30() o and45() o zenith distances programmes. The absolute declination correctionswere determined for 185 stars with precision of 0.027arcsec and thevalue of the determined equator correction is -0.018arcsec +/-0.005arcsec . The instrumental effects were also determined. The meanepoch is 1995.29. Catalogue only available at CDS in electronic from viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html A common resonance of delta SCT stars and ellipsoidal binaries.Not Available New variable chemically peculiar stars identified in the HIPPARCOS archiveSince variability of chemically peculiar (CP) stars plays an importantrole for the astrophysical explanation of their outstanding behaviour,we have identified new variable CP stars listed in Renson's catalogueusing the extensive Hipparcos Variability Annex. From the 293 objectsfound, 33 were excluded because they are no CP stars and/or have noperiod listed, half of the remaining stars are newly identified and halfhad been already included in the catalogue of variable CP stars by\cite[Catalano & Renson (1997).]{Ca} Most of the newly identifiedvariability is due to an apparent magnetic field coupled with stellarrotation (oblique rotator model). The constraints of this model arefulfilled for all but three CP2 stars. Variations of bona fide Am-Fmstars are exclusively explained by eclipses of binary systems.Furthermore eight candidates of the >~mma Doradus group (pulsatingAm-Fm stars) were detected. Based on data from the ESA Hipparcosastrometry satellite. Table 1 is also available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia\break http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright main-sequence stars and subgiant starsWe present X-ray data for all main-sequence and subgiant stars ofspectral types A, F, G, and K and luminosity classes IV and V listed inthe Bright Star Catalogue that have been detected as X-ray sources inthe ROSAT all-sky survey; several stars without luminosity class arealso included. The catalogue contains 980 entries yielding an averagedetection rate of 32 percent. In addition to count rates, sourcedetection parameters, hardness ratios, and X-ray fluxes we also listX-ray luminosities derived from Hipparcos parallaxes. The catalogue isalso available in electronic form via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html On rotation of ellipsoidal binary systems.Not Available Accurate Positions for Radio Stars as Determined from CCD Observations in the Extragalactic Reference Frame.Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1997AJ....114.1679S&db_key=AST Infrared Light Curves and Spectroscopic Classification of the Algol System UX HERAbstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1997AJ....113.1122L&db_key=AST ICCD speckle observations of binary stars: Measurements during 1994-1995We present speckle observations of nineteen double stars and the triplestar 2 Cam. Angular separations, absolute position angles and relativephotometry result from these observations. The angular separation isderived from the power spectrum. The position angle and the relativephotometry are determined by two recent techniques: thecross-correlation between the speckle images and their square, and theratios of twofold probability density functions of the images. Based onobservations made at 2m Telescope Bernard Lyot, Pic du Midi, France. MSC - a catalogue of physical multiple starsThe MSC catalogue contains data on 612 physical multiple stars ofmultiplicity 3 to 7 which are hierarchical with few exceptions. Orbitalperiods, angular separations and mass ratios are estimated for eachsub-system. Orbital elements are given when available. The catalogue canbe accessed through CDS (Strasbourg). Half of the systems are within 100pc from the Sun. The comparison of the periods of close and widesub-systems reveals that there is no preferred period ratio and allpossible combinations of periods are found. The distribution of thelogarithms of short periods is bimodal, probably due to observationalselection. In 82\% of triple stars the close sub-system is related tothe primary of a wide pair. However, the analysis of mass ratiodistribution gives some support to the idea that component masses areindependently selected from the Salpeter mass function. Orbits of wideand close sub-systems are not always coplanar, although thecorresponding orbital angular momentum vectors do show a weak tendencyof alignment. Some observational programs based on the MSC aresuggested. Tables 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Radio stars for linking celestial reference framesRadio stars play a key role in establishing the link between opticalreference frames and the conventional celestial reference frame based onextragalactic radio sources. The relevant astrometric, astrophysical andradio quantities are compiled of 66 cardinal radio stars currentlysuited to frame connection and maintenance of the link. The catalogueentries are supplied with ample bibliographical codes and annotationsfor easy data retrieval. The catalogue is available electronically atthe CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 and viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
Submit a new article