4 Centauri is a multiple star in the constellation Centaurus, approximately 640 light years from Earth. It has a combined apparent magnitude of +4.71.[18] The primary is a blue-white B-type subgiant with a spectroscopic companion, while the secondary is an Am star also with a spectroscopic companion.
4 Centauri is a hierarchical quadruple star system. The primary component of the system, 4 Centauri A, is a spectroscopic binary, meaning that its components cannot be resolved but periodic Doppler shifts in its spectrum show that it must be orbiting. 4 Centauri A has an orbital period of 6.927 days and an eccentricity of 0.23. Because light from only one of the stars can be detected (i.e. it is a single-lined spectroscopic binary), some parameters such as its inclination are unknown.[19] The secondary component, is also a single-lined spectroscopic binary. It has an orbital period of 4.839 days and an eccentricity of 0.05. The secondary component is a metallic-lined A-type star. The two pairs themselves are separated by 14 arcseconds; one orbit would take at least 55,000 years.[6]
References
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- ^ Tetzlaff, N.; Neuhäuser, R.; Hohle, M. M. (2011). "A catalogue of young runaway Hipparcos stars within 3 KPC from the Sun". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 410 (1): 190. arXiv:1007.4883. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.410..190T. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17434.x.
- ^ a b c d Stassun, Keivan G.; et al. (2019). "The Revised TESS Input Catalog and Candidate Target List". The Astronomical Journal. 158 (4): 138. arXiv:1905.10694. Bibcode:2019AJ....158..138S. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab3467.
- ^ "* 4 Cen". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ "* 4 Cen A". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ "* 4 Cen B". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ Paunzen, E. (2022). "Catalogue of stars measured in the Geneva seven-colour photometric system". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 661: A89. arXiv:2111.04810. Bibcode:2022A&A...661A..89P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202142355.
- ^ Paddock, G. F. (1917). "The Spectroscopic Binary H 4 Centauri". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 29 (167): 56. Bibcode:1917PASP...29...56P. doi:10.1086/122588. S2CID 120812946.