GK Persei - Misplaced Pages

Star in the constellation Perseus

GK Persei
Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0
GK Persei and the surrounding Firework Nebula.
Constellation	Perseus
Right ascension	03 31 11.82
Declination	+43° 54′ 16.8″
Apparent magnitude (V)	0.02 - 14.0
Characteristics
Spectral type	K1IV
Astrometry

Radial velocity (R_v)	5.5 km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: −6.878 mas/yr Dec.: −17.348 mas/yr
Parallax (π)	2.3063 ± 0.0415 mas
Distance	1,440 ₋₂₆ ly (442+9 −8 pc)
Absolute magnitude (M_V)	−9.1 - +3.7

Orbit
Period (P)	1.996872 ± 0.000009 d
Inclination (i)	67 ± 5°
Semi-amplitude (K₂) (secondary)	126.4 ± 0.9 km/s
Details
White dwarf
Mass	1.03+0.16 −0.11 `M`_☉
Subgiant
Mass	0.39+0.07 −0.06 `M`_☉
Radius	2.26 ± 0.11 `R`_☉
Other designations
GK Per, Nova Per 1901, HD 21629, HR 1057, BD+43 740a, 2MASS J03311201+4354154, 1RXS J033111.9+435427
Database references
SIMBAD	data

GK Persei (also Nova Persei 1901) was a bright nova first observed on Earth in 1901. It was discovered by Thomas David Anderson, an Edinburgh clergyman, at 02:40 UT on 22 February 1901 when it was at magnitude 2.7. It reached a maximum magnitude of 0.2, the brightest nova of modern times until Nova Aquilae 1918. After fading into obscurity at about magnitude 12 to 13 during the early 20th century, GK Persei began displaying infrequent outbursts of 2 to 3 magnitudes (about 7 to 15 times quiescent brightness). Since about 1980, these outbursts have become quite regular, typically lasting about two months and occurring about every three years. Thus, GK Persei seems to have changed from a classical nova like Nova Aquilae 1918 to something resembling a typical dwarf nova-type cataclysmic variable star.

Surrounding GK Persei is the Firework Nebula, a nova remnant first detected in 1902 consisting of an expanding cloud of gas and dust bubbles moving up to 1200 km/s.

The light curve of GK Persei, plotted from AAVSO data. The main plot shows the major outburst in 1901. Subplot A shows the minor outbursts which have been occurring about every 3 years since around 1980. Subplot B shows the outburst that occurred in 2018, on an expanded scale.

GK Persei has precise parallaxes reported from Gaia DR2 and Gaia EDR3, but these are thought to be badly affected by the binary nature of the system. The Hubble Space Telescope has used a different method to derive the distance to GK Persei using nebular expansion velocity and compares that with its own astrometric parallax calculation. This gave a somewhat smaller parallax (larger distance) than the Gaia measurements.

Properties

Novae consist of a main-sequence to giant star that accretes mass onto a white dwarf. The two stars of GK Persei orbit each other with a period of nearly 2 days. The white dwarf, with a mass of 1.03 M_☉, has one of the highest masses measured in a cataclysmic variable. The donor star, having donated much of its mass to the white dwarf, is only 0.39 M_☉ despite being a subgiant star.

Gallery

The location of GK Persei (circled in red)
GK Persei by the 32-inch Schulman Telescope at the Mt. Lemmon Observatory.
Expanding Nebula around GK Persei. Images range from 1953 to 2012.
Changing light-echo observed at the time of the 1901 Nova, hand-drawn by G.W. Ritchey at the Yerkes Observatory.

References

^ Downes, Ronald; Webbink, Ronald F.; Shara, Michael M. (April 1997), "A Catalog and Atlas of Cataclysmic Variables-Second Edition", Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 109: 345–440, Bibcode:1997PASP..109..345D, doi:10.1086/133900, S2CID 120396435
^ Schaefer, Bradley E. (December 2018). "The distances to Novae as seen by Gaia". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 481 (3): 3033–3051. arXiv:1809.00180. Bibcode:2018MNRAS.481.3033S. doi:10.1093/mnras/sty2388. S2CID 118925493.
van Altena, William F.; Lee, J.T.; et al. (1995). The general catalogue of trigonometric parallaxes. Bibcode:1995gcts.book.....V.
Morales-Rueda, L.; Still, M.D.; Roche, P.; Wood, J.H.; Lockley, J.J. (January 2002). "The stellar mass ratio of GK Persei". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 329 (3): 597–604. arXiv:astro-ph/0110332. Bibcode:2002MNRAS.329..597M. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05013.x.
Wilson, Ralph Elmer (January 1953). "General catalogue of stellar radial velocities". Carnegie Institute Washington D.C. Publication. Bibcode:1953GCRV..C......0W. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
^ Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 649: A1. arXiv:2012.01533. Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657. S2CID 227254300. (Erratum: doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657e). Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
^ Álvarez-Hernández, A.; Torres, M A P.; Rodríguez-Gil, P.; Shahbaz, T.; Anupama, G. C.; Gazeas, K. D.; Pavana, M.; Raj, A.; Hakala, P.; Stone, G.; Gomez, S.; Jonker, P. G.; Ren, J-J; Cannizzaro, G.; Pastor-Marazuela, I.; Goff, W.; Corral-Santana, J. M.; Sabo, R. (2021). "The intermediate polar cataclysmic variable GK Persei 120 years after the nova explosion: A first dynamical mass study". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 507 (4): 5805–5819. arXiv:2107.06932. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab2547.
"V* GK Per". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
Shears, Jeremy (2012). "The astronomizings of Dr. Anderson and the curious case of his disappearing nova". The Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 123 (5): 270–279. arXiv:1209.4057. Bibcode:2013JBAA..123..270S.
Warner, B. (February 2006). "Where have all the novae gone?". Astronomy & Geophysics. 47 (1): 29–32. Bibcode:2006A&G....47a..29W. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4004.2006.47129.x.
"NOAO". Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616. A1. arXiv:1804.09365. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
Harrison, Thomas E.; et al. (2013). "Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor Parallaxes for Four Classical Novae". The Astrophysical Journal. 767 (1). 7. arXiv:1302.3245. Bibcode:2013ApJ...767....7H. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/1/7. S2CID 118376206.

External links

Constellation of Perseus

Stars

Bayer	α (Mirfak) β (Algol) γ δ ε ζ η (Miram) θ ι κ (Misam) λ μ ν ξ (Menkib) ο (Atik) π (Gorgonea Secunda) ρ (Gorgonea Tertia) σ τ φ ψ ω (Gorgonea Quarta) b
Flamsteed	1 2 3 4 (g) 5 7 8 9 (i) 10 11 12 14 16 17 20 21 24 29 30 31 32 (l) 34 36 40 (o) 42 (n) 43 (A) 48 (c) 49 50 52 (f) 53 (d) 54 55 56 57 (m) 58 (e) 59 1 Aur
Variable	S T U V X Z RS RT RV RW RY ST SU SV TZ UV UX UY VX XX XY XZ YZ AB AG AR AS AW AX BM DM DY FO GK IK IP IQ IU IW IX IZ KP KS KT KW LX V351 V356 V357 V361 V376 V380 V386 V392 V396 V400 V423 V432 V440 V459 V461 V471 V472 V473 V480 V490 V492 V505 V509 V518 V520 (61 And) V521 V545 V551 V572 V573 V575 V576 V621 V718 V1024
HR	470 526 529 538 540 621 641 787 792 810 820 831 842 846 849 864 865 876 885 886 890 894 918 (k) 920 923 930 949 950 956 964 966 969 973 975 979 986 991 1001 1019 1034 1037 1041 1047 1051 1056 1059 1074 1097 1113 1127 1130 1133 1141 1160 1164 1176 1191 1197 1198 1207 1215 1226 1234 1286 1301 1330 1333 1337 1344 1371 1390 1419 1424 1482 1489 1493 1500 1514
HD	13519 14433 14434 16691 16760 17092 17245 17605 21684 22781 23301 23596 25329 26702 29587
Other	BD+31 643 BD+48 740 G 38-29 G 95-57 GD 61 HAT-P-15 (Berehynia) HAT-P-29 (Muspelheim) IRAS 04296+3429 L1448-IRS2E LkHα 101 LRLL 54361 NGC 1333 13 NGC 1333 IRAS 2A NGC 1333 IRAS 4A NGC 1333 IRAS 4B NGC 1624-2 PSR B0355+54 PSR J0357+3205 WR 4

Exoplanets	WASP-11b/HAT-P-10b

Star
clusters

NGC	869 (h) 884 (χ) 957 1039 1220 1285 1342 1444 1513 1528 1545 1624
Other	Alpha Persei Cluster IC 348 Trumpler 2

Nebulae

NGC	650 (Little Dumbbell Nebula) 1333 1491 1499 (California Nebula) 1579
Other	Barnard 203 Wreath Nebula

Galaxies

NGC	1003 1023 1058 1077 1086 1159 1160 1161 1167 1169 1175 (Peanut Galaxy) 1198 1250 1259 1260 1264 1265 1267 1268 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1277 1278 1279 1281 1282 1283 1293 1294 1334
Other	1H 0323+342 IC 310 UGC 2885 (Godzilla galaxy) 4C +37.11

Galaxy clusters	Perseus Cluster

Astronomical events	SN 2006gy Perseids