Epsilon Sagittarii (Latinised from ε Sagittarii, abbreviated Epsilon Sgr, ε Sgr), formally named Kaus Australis /ˈkɔːs ɔːˈstrlɪs/,[8][9] is a binary star system in the southern zodiac constellation of Sagittarius. The apparent visual magnitude of 1.85[2] makes it the brightest object in Sagittarius. Based upon parallax measurements, this star is around 143 light-years (44 parsecs) from the Sun.

ε Sagittarii
Location of ε Sagittarii (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Sagittarius
Right ascension 18h 24m 10.31840s[1]
Declination –34° 23′ 04.6193″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 1.85[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type B9.5 III[3]
U−B color index 0.13[2]
B−V color index –0.03[2]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)–15[4] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: –39.42[1] mas/yr
Dec.: –124.20[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)22.76 ± 0.24 mas[1]
Distance143 ± 2 ly
(43.9 ± 0.5 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)–1.41[5]
Details[6]
ε Sgr A
Mass3.80 M
Radius8.8 (equatorial)
6.01 (polar) R
Luminosity497 L
Surface gravity (log g)3.46 (polar)
2.00 (equatorial) cgs
Temperature11,720 (polar)
7,433 (equatorial)
9,950 (mean) K
Rotation1.61 days
Rotational velocity (v sin i)236[7] km/s
Age232[5] Myr
ε Sgr B
Mass0.95[5] M
Radius0.93[5][a] R
Luminosity0.891[5] L
Temperature5,808[5] K
Other designations
Kaus Australis, ε Sagittarii, ε Sgr, Epsilon Sgr, 20 Sagittarii, CCDM J18242-3423A, FK5 689, GC 25100, HD 169022, HIP 90185, HR 6879, IDS 18175-3427 A, PPM 297655, SAO 210091, WDS J18242-3423A
Database references
SIMBADdata

Observation

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Epsilon Sagittarii can best be viewed in the month of August.[10] The star is at least 10 degrees away from the ecliptic, and the Sun passes it overhead around December 25-26th. The star is visible from late January to late November from mid-northern latitudes. From mid-southern latitudes, the star is visible from early January until the middle of December. The star is not visible in areas above 55°N latitude. From latitudes below 55°S, Epsilon Sagittarii is a circumpolar star.

Stellar system

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The primary star, ε Sagittarii A, of this binary star system has a stellar classification of B9.5 III,[3] with the luminosity class of III suggesting it has a luminosity comparable to a giant star for its spectral type. It has about 3.8 times the mass of the Sun and is radiating around 500 times the Sun's luminosity from its photosphere.[6]

Epsilon Sagittarii A is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 236 km s−1.[7] This rapid rotation give the star an oblate shape, with its equatorial circumference being 34% larger than its polar circumference. The effective temperature across the star's surface varies as well, from 7,433 K in the equator to 11,720 K in the poles. Due to its unusually rapid rotation, Epsilon Sagittarii is more likely a product of stellar binary interaction.[6]

It has a magnetic field with a strength in the range 10.5–130.5 Gauss[11] and it is an X-ray source with a luminosity of about 1030 erg s−1.[5] The system displays an excess emission of infrared radiation, which would suggest the presence of a circumstellar disk of dust,[12] but these claims were later found to be doubtful.[6]

Companion star

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As of 2001, the secondary star, ε Sagittarii B, is located at an angular separation of 2.392 arcseconds from the primary along a position angle of 142.3°. At the distance of this system, this angle is equivalent to a physical separation of about 106 AU. It is a main sequence star with about 95% of the mass of the Sun. The system has a higher optical linear polarisation than expected for its distance from the Sun; this has been attributed to light scattered off the disk from the secondary,[13] but a more recent analysis suggest that it is caused by the presence of a gas disk around the primary.[6] Prior to its 1993 identification using an adaptive optics coronagraph, this companion may have been responsible for the spectral anomalies that were attributed to the primary star.[14] There is a candidate stellar companion at an angular separation of 32.3 arcseconds.[5]

Nomenclature

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ε Sagittarii (Latinised to Epsilon Sagittarii) is the star system's Bayer designation.

It bore the traditional name Kaus Australis, which derived from the Arabic قوس qaws 'bow' and Latin austrālis 'southern'. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[15] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016[16] included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Kaus Australis for the star ε Sagittarii A.

In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Thalath al Waridah, or Thalith al Waridah, meaning 'third of Warida'.[17]

In Chinese, (), meaning Winnowing Basket, refers to an asterism consisting of Epsilon Sagittarii, Gamma Sagittarii, Delta Sagittarii and Eta Sagittarii. Consequently, the Chinese name for Epsilon Sagittarii itself is 箕宿三 (Jī Sù sān, English: the Third Star of Winnowing Basket.)[18]

This star, together with:

Kaus Australis is listed in the Babylonian compendium MUL.APIN as MA.GUR8, meaning "the Bark".[21]

The Kalapalo people of Mato Grosso state in Brazil called this star and λ Scorpii, through ι Scorpii, θ Scorpii, ν Scorpii, υ Scorpii and ρ Scorpii Taugi kusugu, "Taugi's fishing basket".[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ Calculated, using the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the star's effective temperature and luminosity, with respect to the solar nominal effective temperature of 5,772 K: 


References

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  1. ^ a b c d e van Leeuwen, F. (November 2007), "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 474 (2): 653–664, arXiv:0708.1752, Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357, S2CID 18759600
  2. ^ a b c d Johnson, H. L.; et al. (1966), "UBVRIJKL photometry of the bright stars", Communications of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 4: 99–100, Bibcode:1966CoLPL...4...99J
  3. ^ a b Houk, Nancy; Smith-Moore, M. (1979), "Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD stars", Michigan Catalogue of Two-dimensional Spectral Types for the HD Stars. Volume_3. Declinations -40.0° to -26.0°, 3, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Dept. of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Bibcode:1982mcts.book.....H
  4. ^ Evans, D. S. (June 20–24, 1966). "The Revision of the General Catalogue of Radial Velocities". In Batten, Alan Henry; Heard, John Frederick (eds.). Determination of Radial Velocities and their Applications, Proceedings from IAU Symposium no. 30. Determination of Radial Velocities and Their Applications. Vol. 30. University of Toronto: International Astronomical Union. p. 57. Bibcode:1967IAUS...30...57E.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hubrig, S.; Le Mignant, D.; North, P.; Krautter, J. (June 2001), "Search for low-mass PMS companions around X-ray selected late B stars", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 372: 152–164, arXiv:astro-ph/0103201, Bibcode:2001A&A...372..152H, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010452, S2CID 17507782
  6. ^ a b c d e Bailey, Jeremy; Lewis, Fiona; Howarth, Ian D.; Cotton, Daniel V.; Marshall, Jonathan P.; Kedziora-Chudczer, Lucyna (2024-09-01). "ϵ Sagittarii: An Extreme Rapid Rotator with a Decretion Disk". The Astrophysical Journal. 972 (1): 103. arXiv:2407.11352. Bibcode:2024ApJ...972..103B. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad630b. ISSN 0004-637X.
  7. ^ a b Royer, F.; et al. (October 2002), "Rotational velocities of A-type stars in the northern hemisphere. II. Measurement of v sin i", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 393 (3): 897–911, arXiv:astro-ph/0205255, Bibcode:2002A&A...393..897R, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20020943, S2CID 14070763
  8. ^ Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub. ISBN 978-1-931559-44-7.
  9. ^ "IAU Catalog of Star Names". Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  10. ^ Ian (2020-02-04). "Kaus Australis (ε Sagittarii) | Facts, Information, History & Definition". The Nine Planets. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  11. ^ Bychkov, V. D.; Bychkova, L. V.; Madej, J. (August 2003), "Catalogue of averaged stellar effective magnetic fields. I. Chemically peculiar A and B type stars", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 407 (2): 631–642, arXiv:astro-ph/0307356, Bibcode:2003A&A...407..631B, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030741, S2CID 14184105
  12. ^ Rodriguez, David R.; Zuckerman, B. (February 2012), "Binaries among Debris Disk Stars", The Astrophysical Journal, 745 (2): 147, arXiv:1111.5618, Bibcode:2012ApJ...745..147R, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/745/2/147, S2CID 73681879
  13. ^ Cotton, D. V.; et al. (January 2016). "The linear polarization of Southern bright stars measured at the parts-per-million level". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 455 (2): 1607–1628. arXiv:1509.07221. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.455.1607C. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv2185. S2CID 11191040.
  14. ^ Golimowski, David A.; Durrance, Samuel T.; Clampin, Mark (March 1993), "Detection of an apparent star 2.1 arcsec from the circumstellar disk candidate Epsilon Sagittarii", Astronomical Journal, 105 (3): 1108–1113, Bibcode:1993AJ....105.1108G, doi:10.1086/116498
  15. ^ "IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)". Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Bulletin of the IAU Working Group on Star Names, No. 1" (PDF). Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  17. ^ Knobel, E. B. (June 1895). "Al Achsasi Al Mouakket, on a catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Mohammad Al Achsasi Al Mouakket". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 55 (8): 435. Bibcode:1895MNRAS..55..429K. doi:10.1093/mnras/55.8.429.
  18. ^ (in Chinese) AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 5 月 11 日 Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Teapot". constellation-guide.com. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
  20. ^ a b Allen, R. H. (1963). Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (Reprint ed.). New York: Dover Publications Inc. p. 355. ISBN 0-486-21079-0. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  21. ^ Rogers, J. H. (February 1998), "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions", Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 108 (1): 9–28, Bibcode:1998JBAA..108....9R
  22. ^ Basso, Ellen B. (1987). In Favor of Deceit: A Study of Tricksters in an Amazonian Society. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press. p. 360. ISBN 0-8165-1022-9.
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