Lesson plan
R Centauri
R Centauri (R Cen) is a Mira variable star in the constellation Centaurus. When it is near its maximum brightness, it is faintly visible to the naked eye under very good observing conditions. The distance to R Centauri as indicated by its Gaia Data Release 3 parallax is about 2,900 light years, but that is considered to be potentially unreliable. The Gaia Data Release 2 parallax was negative and relatively meaningless. The older Hipparcos parallax suggested a distance of about 1,300 light years, but with a wide margin of error. Estimates based on an assumed brightness for the star, adjusted for extinction, give distances as low as 750 light years. The effective temperature of R Centauri's photosphere has been calculated by different methods to be or . Its luminosity is even more uncertain, depending on assumptions about the distance. At a distance of , the bolometric luminosity would be , while assuming a larger distance of the luminosity would be over . In either case, it is a very large star, over . Benjamin Apthorp Gould discovered R Centauri, in 1871. The star is a Mira variable and its brightness varies from magnitude +5.2 to +11.5 with a period of about 500 days. It used to have an unusual double-peaked light curve, but by 2001 this had reverted to an almost normal single-peaked curve.…
Article summary
R Centauri (R Cen) is a Mira variable star in the constellation Centaurus. When it is near its maximum brightness, it is faintly visible to the naked eye under very good observing conditions. The distance to R Centauri as indicated by its Gaia Data Release 3 parallax is about 2,900 light years, but that is considered to be potentially unreliable. The Gaia Data Release 2 parallax was negative and relatively meaningless. The older Hipparcos parallax suggested a distance of about 1,300 light years, but with a wide margin of error. Estimates based on an assumed brightness for the star, adjusted for extinction, give distances as low as 750 light years. The effective temperature of R Centauri's photosphere has been calculated by different methods to be or . Its luminosity is even more uncertain, depending on assumptions about the distance. At a distance of , the bolometric luminosity would be , while assuming a larger distance of the luminosity would be over . In either case, it is a very large star, over . Benjamin Apthorp Gould discovered R Centauri, in 1871. The star is a Mira variable and its brightness varies from magnitude +5.2 to +11.5 with a period of about 500 days. It used to have an unusual double-peaked light curve, but by 2001 this had reverted to an almost normal single-peaked curve.…
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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?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.