Lesson plan
Xi2 Centauri
Xi 2 Centauri is a triple star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ξ 2 Centauri, and abbreviated Xi 2 Cen or ξ 2 Cen. This system is visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.30, and forms a wide optical double with the slightly dimmer ξ 1 Centauri. Based upon an annual parallax shift of , Xi 2 Centauri lies roughly 480 light years from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude is diminished by an interstellar extinction factor of 0.32 due to intervening dust. This system was discovered to be a single-lined spectroscopic binary in 1910 by American astronomer Joseph Haines Moore. The pair, component A, orbit each other with a period of 7.6497 days and an eccentricity of 0.35. The primary is a B-type star with a stellar classification of B1.5 V or B2 IV, depending on the source. This indicates it may be a main sequence star or a more evolved subgiant star. It has about 8.1 times the mass of the Sun and radiates 1,702 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 20,790 K. It is a hybrid pulsator and shows variations in both g and p modes. A third star, component B, is a magnitude 9.38 F-type main sequence star with a classification of F7 V.…
Article summary
Xi 2 Centauri is a triple star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ξ 2 Centauri, and abbreviated Xi 2 Cen or ξ 2 Cen. This system is visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.30, and forms a wide optical double with the slightly dimmer ξ 1 Centauri. Based upon an annual parallax shift of , Xi 2 Centauri lies roughly 480 light years from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude is diminished by an interstellar extinction factor of 0.32 due to intervening dust. This system was discovered to be a single-lined spectroscopic binary in 1910 by American astronomer Joseph Haines Moore. The pair, component A, orbit each other with a period of 7.6497 days and an eccentricity of 0.35. The primary is a B-type star with a stellar classification of B1.5 V or B2 IV, depending on the source. This indicates it may be a main sequence star or a more evolved subgiant star. It has about 8.1 times the mass of the Sun and radiates 1,702 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 20,790 K. It is a hybrid pulsator and shows variations in both g and p modes. A third star, component B, is a magnitude 9.38 F-type main sequence star with a classification of F7 V.…
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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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