Lesson plan
Omicron2 Centauri
Omicron 2 Centauri is a star in the southern constellation Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinied from ο 2 Centauri, and abbreviated Omicron 2 Cen or ο 2 Cen. This star is visible to the naked eye with a mean apparent visual magnitude of +5.12. Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 7,000 light years from Earth. ο 2 Centauri is a white A-type blue supergiant. It is classified as an Alpha Cygni type variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +5.12 to +5.22 with a period of 46.3 days. In 1996, Kaufer and colleagues calculated Omicron 2 Centauri to be around 136,000 times as luminous, 18 times as massive and have 131 times the diameter of the Sun. ο 2 Cen forms a close naked eye pair with ο 1 Cen, another 5th magnitude supergiant (possibly a yellow hypergiant). Both stars are located between Crux (the Southern Cross) and the brightest yellow hypergiant in the sky, V382 Carinae.
Article summary
Omicron 2 Centauri is a star in the southern constellation Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinied from ο 2 Centauri, and abbreviated Omicron 2 Cen or ο 2 Cen. This star is visible to the naked eye with a mean apparent visual magnitude of +5.12. Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 7,000 light years from Earth. ο 2 Centauri is a white A-type blue supergiant. It is classified as an Alpha Cygni type variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +5.12 to +5.22 with a period of 46.3 days. In 1996, Kaufer and colleagues calculated Omicron 2 Centauri to be around 136,000 times as luminous, 18 times as massive and have 131 times the diameter of the Sun. ο 2 Cen forms a close naked eye pair with ο 1 Cen, another 5th magnitude supergiant (possibly a yellow hypergiant). Both stars are located between Crux (the Southern Cross) and the brightest yellow hypergiant in the sky, V382 Carinae.
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Discussion questions
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