Gaia17bpp
 An optical image of Gaia17bpp, captured by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope. | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Sagitta |
| Right ascension | 19h 37m 23.16s |
| Declination | +17° 59′ 02.90″ |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | Red giant branch |
| Spectral type | M0-III |
| J−K color index | 1.7 |
| Astrometry | |
| Parallax (π) | −0.18±0.4 mas. Derived distance using photogeometric distance posterior distribution (Bailer-Jones et al. 2021) |
| Other designations | |
| AT 2017exj, 2MASS J19372316+1759029, Gaia DR3 1824311891830344704 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | J19372316+1759029 data |
Gaia17bpp is a rare M-type red giant star that exhibited a single large dimming event (G-16-20.5 mag) over 6.5 years. The variable star is located in the constellation of Sagitta roughly 27,600 ly (8.5 kpc).[1] Current hypothesis and archival data suggest that Gaia17bpp belongs to a rare family of ultra-long period binary stars where the companion is enshrouded in large optically thick disks reminiscent of Epsilon Aurigae, VVV-WIT-07, and AS Leonis Minoris.[1][2][3][4] The proposed secondary star and disk remain unconfirmed due to the copious amount of intervening interstellar dust, and likely due to the remarkable long timescale period of the system.
Gaia17bpp[5] was initially discovered through the ESA's Gaia Photometric Science Alerts[6] (GPSA) in 2022 by astronomers at the University of Washington.[7][8] The remarkable Gaia17bpp dimming event occurred in mid 2012, however the GPSA issued an alert back in 2017 when the star began re-brightening. Due to the large duration of the dimming event, the entirety of the Gaia17bpp dimming event was recovered from several public data archives such as Pan-STARRS, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) where the dimming event was also observed in the near-infrared.
Researchers employed archival image searching and conducted spectroscopic follow-up observations on Gaia17bpp using the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m ARC Telescope.[9] Throughout their analysis, they successfully ruled out several suspected variable star classes with similar dimming event such as R Coronae Borealis, Cataclysmic variable star, or Young stellar object.
Modeling of the dimming event suggest that a possible scenario includes the occultation of an extended oblate optically thick disk with 1.4 AU radius, moving with a transverse velocity of approximately 0.005 km/s.[1] It is unclear how such large optically thick disks can form such in the case of Gaia17bpp and other analog systems. One study suggests that previous mass-transfer interaction between a close binary can produce large disks and lose angular momentum to produce the observed long period binary system.[10]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Tzanidakis, Anastasios; Davenport, James R. A.; Bellm, Eric C.; Wang, Yuankun (2023-09-01). "Gaia17bpp: A Giant Star with the Deepest and Longest Known Dimming Event". The Astrophysical Journal. 955 (1): 69. arXiv:2306.12409. Bibcode:2023ApJ...955...69T. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aceda7. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ Kloppenborg, Brian; Stencel, Robert; Monnier, John D.; Schaefer, Gail; Zhao, Ming; Baron, Fabien; McAlister, Hal; ten Brummelaar, Theo; Che, Xiao; Farrington, Chris; Pedretti, Ettore; Sallave-Goldfinger, P. J.; Sturmann, Judit; Sturmann, Laszlo; Thureau, Nathalie (2010-04-01). "Infrared images of the transiting disk in the ɛ Aurigae system". Nature. 464 (7290): 870–872. arXiv:1004.2464. Bibcode:2010Natur.464..870K. doi:10.1038/nature08968. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 20376144. S2CID 18866716.
- ^ Lipunov, V.; Gorbovskoy, E.; Afanasiev, V.; Tatarnikova, A.; Denisenko, D.; Makarov, D.; Tiurina, N.; Krushinsky, V.; Vinokurov, A.; Balanutsa, P.; Kuznetsov, A.; Gress, O.; Sergienko, Yu.; Yurkov, V.; Gabovich, A. (2016-04-01). "Discovery of an unusual bright eclipsing binary with the longest known period: TYC 2505-672-1/MASTER OT J095310.04+335352.8". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 588: A90. arXiv:1602.06010. Bibcode:2016A&A...588A..90L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201526528. ISSN 0004-6361.
- ^ Smith, Leigh C.; Koposov, Sergey E.; Lucas, Philip W.; Sanders, Jason L.; Minniti, Dante; Udalski, Andrzej; Evans, N. Wyn; Aguado, David; Ivanov, Valentin D.; Saito, Roberto K.; Fraga, Luciano; Pietrukowicz, Pawel; Penoyre, Zephyr; González-Fernández, Carlos (2021-08-01). "VVV-WIT-08: the giant star that blinked". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 505 (2): 1992–2008. arXiv:2106.05300. Bibcode:2021MNRAS.505.1992S. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab1211. ISSN 0035-8711.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ "Gaia17bpp". gsaweb.ast.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ Hodgkin, S. T.; Harrison, D. L.; Breedt, E.; Wevers, T.; Rixon, G.; Delgado, A.; Yoldas, A.; Kostrzewa-Rutkowska, Z.; Wyrzykowski, Ł.; van Leeuwen, M.; Blagorodnova, N.; Campbell, H.; Eappachen, D.; Fraser, M.; Ihanec, N. (2021-08-01). "Gaia Early Data Release 3. Gaia photometric science alerts". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 652: A76. arXiv:2106.01394. Bibcode:2021A&A...652A..76H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140735. ISSN 0004-6361.
- ^ Strickland, Ashley (2023-01-11). "Unusually brightening star captures attention as a stellar oddity". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ "The seven-year photobomb: Distant star's dimming was likely a 'dusty' companion getting in the way, astronomers say". UW News. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ "ARC". arc.apo.nmsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ Gibson, Justus (13 March 2018). "MESA models of the evolutionary state of the interacting binary epsilon Aurigae". academic.oup.com. Retrieved 2024-01-08.