Lesson plan
Lambda Centauri
, with IC 2948 below left and IC 2872 above right Lambda Centauri is a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from λ Centauri, and abbreviated Lambda Cen or λ Cen. The star has an apparent visual magnitude of +3.13, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and places it among the brighter members of this constellation. The star is close enough that its distance can be determined directly using the parallax technique, which gives a value of approximately 390 light years (121 pc) from the Sun. Although a putative solitary star, it has a candidate proper motion companion at an angular separation of 0.73 arcseconds along a position angle of 135°. The nebula IC 2944 lies nearby. Lambda Centauri is a B-type giant star with a stellar classification of B9 III (although it has also been classified as A1 III). It has about 5.5 times the radius of the Sun and is rotating rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of . The latter is giving the star an oblate shape with an equatorial bulge that is 17% larger than the polar radius. The star's outer atmosphere has an effective temperature of 9,880 K, giving it a blue-white hue. Based upon the position and movement of this star through space, it is a likely member of the Gould Belt.…
Article summary
, with IC 2948 below left and IC 2872 above right Lambda Centauri is a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from λ Centauri, and abbreviated Lambda Cen or λ Cen. The star has an apparent visual magnitude of +3.13, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and places it among the brighter members of this constellation. The star is close enough that its distance can be determined directly using the parallax technique, which gives a value of approximately 390 light years (121 pc) from the Sun. Although a putative solitary star, it has a candidate proper motion companion at an angular separation of 0.73 arcseconds along a position angle of 135°. The nebula IC 2944 lies nearby. Lambda Centauri is a B-type giant star with a stellar classification of B9 III (although it has also been classified as A1 III). It has about 5.5 times the radius of the Sun and is rotating rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of . The latter is giving the star an oblate shape with an equatorial bulge that is 17% larger than the polar radius. The star's outer atmosphere has an effective temperature of 9,880 K, giving it a blue-white hue. Based upon the position and movement of this star through space, it is a likely member of the Gould Belt.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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