Alnitak
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Orion |
| Right ascension | 05h 40m 45.52666s[1] |
| Declination | −01° 56′ 342649″[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 1.77[2] (2.08 + 4.28 + 4.01[3]) |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | O9.5Iab/B1IV/B0III[3] |
| U−B color index | −1.06[2] |
| B−V color index | −0.11 (A) −0.20 (B)[4] |
| Astrometry | |
| Radial velocity (Rv) | 18.50[5] km/s |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: 3.19[1] mas/yr Dec.: 2.03[1] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 4.43 ± 0.64[1] mas |
| Distance | 387 ± 54[3] pc |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | −6.0/−3.9/−4.1[3] |
| Orbit[3] | |
| Primary | Aa |
| Companion | Ab |
| Period (P) | 2,687 days |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 0.0359" |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.338 |
| Inclination (i) | 139.3° |
| Longitude of the node (Ω) | 83.8° |
| Periastron epoch (T) | JD 2452734.2 |
| Semi-amplitude (K1) (primary) | 10.1 km/s |
| Semi-amplitude (K2) (secondary) | 19.6 km/s |
| Orbit[6] | |
| Primary | A |
| Companion | B |
| Period (P) | 1,508.6 yr |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 2.7280" |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.0700 |
| Inclination (i) | 72.0° |
| Longitude of the node (Ω) | 155.5° |
| Periastron epoch (T) | 2070.6 |
| Details | |
| Mass | 33/14[3]/16 M☉ |
| Radius | 20/7.3[3]/7.2 R☉ |
| Luminosity | 250,000/31,600[3]/35,000 L☉ |
| Temperature | 28,000/28,000[3]/29,000 K |
| Rotation | 140/?/350[3] |
| Age | ~7[3] Myr |
| Other designations | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Alnitak (Arabic: النطاق an-niṭāq) is a multiple star several hundred parsecs away in the constellation Orion. It is part of Orion's Belt along with Alnilam and Mintaka, and has a Bayer designation of Zeta Orionis (ζ Ori) and a Flamsteed designation of 50 Orionis.
The primary star is a hot blue supergiant with an absolute magnitude of -6.0 and is the brightest class O star in the night sky with a visual magnitude of +2.0. It has two bluish 4th magnitude companions, one finely resolved and one only detected interferometrically and spectroscopically, producing a combined magnitude for the trio of +1.77. The stars are members of the Orion OB1 association and the Collinder 70 association.
Observation history
Alnitak has been known since antiquity and, as a component of Orion's belt, has been of widespread cultural significance. It was reported to be a double star by amateur German astronomer George K. Kunowsky in 1819.[7] Much more recently, in 1998, the bright primary was found by a team from the Lowell Observatory to have a close companion; this had been suspected from observations made with the Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer in the 1970s.[8] The stellar parallax derived from observations by the Hipparcos satellite imply a distance around 225pc, but this does not take into account distortions caused by the multiple nature of the system and larger distances have been derived by many authors.
System
Alnitak is a binary star system at the eastern end of Orion's belt, the second magnitude primary having a 4th magnitude companion nearly 3 arc-seconds distant, in an orbit taking over 1,500 years. The primary (Alnitak A) is itself a close binary, comprising Alnitak Aa (a blue supergiant of spectral type O9.5Iab with an absolute magnitude of -6.0 and an apparent magnitude of 2.0) and Alnitak Ab (a blue sub-giant of spectral type B1IV with an absolute magnitude of -3.9 and an apparent magnitude of 4.3, discovered in 1998 [8]). Aa is estimated as being up to 33 times as massive as the Sun and to have a diameter 20 times greater. It is some 21 000 times brighter than the sun, with a surface brightness (luminance) some 50 times greater. It is the brightest star of class O in the night sky. A fourth star, 9th magnitude Alnitak C, has not been confirmed to be part of the Aa-Ab-B group, and may simply lie along the line of sight.
The Alnitak system is bathed in the nebulosity of IC 434.
Etymology and cultural significance
The traditional name Alnitak, alternately spelled Al Nitak or Alnitah, is taken from the Arabic النطاق an-niṭāq, "the girdle".[7]
Orion's belt
The three belt stars were collectively known by many names in many cultures. Arabic terms include النجاد Al Nijād 'the Belt', النسك Al Nasak 'the Line', العلقات Al Alkāt 'the Golden Grains or Nuts' and, in modern Arabic, ميزان الحق Al Mīzān al Ḥaqq 'the Accurate Scale Beam'. In Chinese mythology they were known as The Weighing Beam.[7]
The belt was also the Three Stars mansion (simplified Chinese: 参宿; traditional Chinese: 參宿; pinyin: Shēn Xiù), one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger.
In pre-Christian Scandinavia, the belt was known as Frigg's Distaff (Friggerock) or Freyja's distaff.[9] Similarly Jacob's Staff and Peter's Staff were European biblical derived terms, as were the Three Magi, or the Three Kings. Väinämöinen's Scythe (Kalevala) and Kalevan Sword are terms from Finnish mythology.[7]
The Seri people of northwestern Mexico call the three belt stars Hapj (a name denoting a hunter) which consists of three stars: Hap (mule deer), Haamoja (pronghorn), and Mojet (bighorn sheep). Hap is in the middle and has been shot by the hunter; its blood has dripped onto Tiburón Island.[10]
In Latin America, this asterism is known as Las Tres Marías or As Três Marias which stand for The Three Marys in Spanish and Portuguese respectively.
In the Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever, Captain James T. Kirk references Alnitak by pointing it out as "that far left star in Orion's belt—see?"
Namesakes
USS Alnitah (AK-127) was a United States Navy Crater class cargo ship named after the star.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Van Leeuwen, F. (2007). "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction". Astronomy and Astrophysics 474 (2): 653. arXiv:0708.1752. Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357.
- 1 2 Ducati, J. R. (2002). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: Catalogue of Stellar Photometry in Johnson's 11-color system". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues 2237: 0. Bibcode:2002yCat.2237....0D.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hummel, C. A.; Rivinius, T.; Nieva, M. -F.; Stahl, O.; Van Belle, G.; Zavala, R. T. (2013). "Dynamical mass of the O-type supergiant inζOrionis A". Astronomy & Astrophysics 554: A52. arXiv:1306.0330. Bibcode:2013A&A...554A..52H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321434.
- ↑ Fabricius, C.; Høg, E.; Makarov, V. V.; Mason, B. D.; Wycoff, G. L.; Urban, S. E. (2002). "The Tycho double star catalogue". Astronomy and Astrophysics 384 (1): 180–189. Bibcode:2002A&A...384..180F. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011822. ISSN 0004-6361.
- ↑ Kharchenko, N.V.; Scholz, R.-D.; Piskunov, A.E.; Röser, S.; Schilbach, E. (2007). "Astrophysical supplements to the ASCC-2.5: Ia. Radial velocities of ∼55000 stars and mean radial velocities of 516 Galactic open clusters and associations". Astronomische Nachrichten 328 (9): 889–896. arXiv:0705.0878. Bibcode:2007AN....328..889K. doi:10.1002/asna.200710776. ISSN 0004-6337.
- ↑ Malkov, O. Y.; Tamazian, V. S.; Docobo, J. A.; Chulkov, D. A. (2012). "Dynamical masses of a selected sample of orbital binaries". Astronomy & Astrophysics 546: A69. Bibcode:2012A&A...546A..69M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219774.
- 1 2 3 4 Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-names and their meanings (1936), p. 314-15.
- 1 2 Hummel CA; White NM; Elias NM II; Hajian AR; Nordgren TE (2000). "ζ Orionis A Is a Double Star". The Astrophysical Journal 540 (2): L91–L93. Bibcode:2000ApJ...540L..91H. doi:10.1086/312882.
- ↑ Schön, Ebbe. (2004). Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. p. 228.
- ↑ Moser, Mary B.; Stephen A. Marlett (2005). Comcáac quih yaza quih hant ihíip hac: Diccionario seri-español-inglés (PDF) (in Spanish and English). Hermosillo, Sonora and Mexico City: Universidad de Sonora and Plaza y Valdés Editores.
External links
- "Alnitak 3". SolStation. Retrieved 2005-12-15.
- Image of Alnitak from APOD
- Alnitak on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
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Coordinates: 
05h 40m 45.5s, −01° 56′ 34″