Thread: Castor
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Old 03-02-2005, 06:08 PM
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[1ponders] (Paul)
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Obi Obi, Qld
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If you want to check out a really interesting multiple star try gamma Vela.

Its actually the brightest star in the constellation Vela but kept its gamma designation from before the constellation Argos was broken up into Carina, Vela and Puppis. It is 5 stars but none double. They all orbit each other. Scientists are yet to work out how in this multiple situation one or more haven't collided with each other. If you get a good seeing night its quite a spectacular multiple.

Quote
"gamma is sometimes called Regor, of unknown meaning. (One explanation is that it is "Roger" backwards and perhaps honors someone of that name. To the unaided eye gama appears as a single star of magnitude of 1.8. It is really a quintuple system, its components of the following types and mangitudes (their luminosity classes are unknown). gamma Vel A: WC7 ("WC" is the designation for atype of Wolf-Rayet star, see below), 1.9; gama Vel B: B3, 4.2; gama Vel C: AO, 8.2; gamma Vel D: AO, 9.1; gamma Vel E: unknown type, 12.5. Escept for gamma Vel D and E, which are only 1.8" apart, the stars are easily resolved in small telescopes. Gamma Vel A, the brightest star, is a rare Wolf-Rayer star, one of the hottest stars known, very blue and bright. The system is 1500 ly from Earth"

End quote

If you get the opportunity, find out about Wolf-Rayer stars, they are fascinating stars.
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