GAMMA ANDROMEDAE CONTRAST MULTIPLE STAR
Right Ascension:
2h 03m 54s
Best Seen:
9/15-3/1
Declination:
42º 19' 51"
Combined Magnitude:
2.10
Computer File:
gammaand
Constellation:
Andromeda
Apparent Separation:
9.8"
Actual (Yellow / Blue)
Compared to
Distance
355 l.y.
--
Separation
60 billion miles
645 Earth/Sun
Actual Brightness
--
1092 / 91 (Sun)
Magnitude
2.33 / 5.02
--
Spectral Type
K3 IIb / (B9V, A0V)
G2 V (Sun)
WHAT TO LOOK FOR THROUGH THE TELESCOPE:
-
Recommended eyepiece: 24mm or 40 mm.
-
When people look through the telescope they should see two stars next to each other. The brighter star should appear yellow and the dimmer star blue.
GAMMA ANDROMEDAE INFORMATION:
- This star is actually a quadruple star system.
a. Star A is the yellow star (K3IIb).
b. Star B is the blue star (B9V), and orbits Star A. Star B is about 60 billion miles from Star A (600 Earth/Sun).
c. Star B is actually triple star system.
i. Star C (A0V) orbits Star B, and is about 3 billion miles from Star B (the distance from Sun to Neptune). B and C take 60 years to orbit each other.
ii. Star D is only about 1 million miles away from Star B (Earth is 93 million from Sun). B and D only take about 2.7 days to orbit each other.
iii. Star D is so close to Star B they almost touch.
iv. Star D can’t be seen, but it does make a wobble in the movement of Star B around Star A.
- Note that the colors of these stars may be more striking if they are slightly out of focus.