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V838 Monocerotis

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Also known as Nova Monocerotis 2002, GSC 04822-00039, V838 Mon, NOVA Mon 2002, TIC 33366214

red supergiant

In the Vinony graph

Vinony's link graph records 97 inbound references to V838 Monocerotis, and connects out to list of stars in Monoceros, minute and second of arc and year.

It sits within the topics B-type main-sequence stars, L-type stars and Luminous red novae.

Vinony links it to 30 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Constellation
Monoceros
Right ascension
07 04 04.822
Declination
−03 ° 50 ′ 50.53 ″
Apparent magnitude v
6.75 (2002), 15.6
Evolutionary stage
M-type supergiant
Spectral type
M7.5I -> M5.5I + B3V
Variable type
LRN

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
20000
Radius
380
Mass
18
Variable-star type
long-period variable star
Image
V838, Hubble images cropped.jpg
Show 14 more facts
catalog code
Gaia DR3 3107789548859766016
Commons category
V838 Monocerotis
spectral class
M10+B3V
apparent magnitude
11.139417
epoch
J2000.0
parallax
0.163
absolute magnitude
-5.5
effective temperature
3270
luminosity
15000
right ascension component of proper motion
-0.54
declination component of proper motion
0.08
age estimated by a dating method
4
right ascension
106.02009228958
declination
-3.84740247067
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Encyclopedic overview

V838 Monocerotis (Nova Monocerotis 2002) is a cataclysmic binary star in the constellation Monoceros about 19,000 light years (6 kpc) from the Sun. The previously unremarked star was observed in early 2002 experiencing a major outburst, and was one of the largest known stars for a short period following the outburst. Originally believed to be a typical nova eruption, it was then identified as the first of a new class of eruptive variables known as luminous red novae. The reason for the outburst is still uncertain, but is thought to have been a merger of two stars within a triple system.

The eruption occurred on one of two B3 main sequence stars in a close binary orbit. The erupting star appeared as an unusually cool supergiant and for a while engulfed its companion. By 2009 the temperature of the supergiant had increased (since 2005) to 3,270 K and its luminosity was 15,000 times solar (L☉), but its radius had decreased to 380 times that of the Sun (R☉), although the ejecta continues to expand.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “V838 Monocerotis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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