RT Aurigae

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Star in the constellation Auriga

title: "RT Aurigae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["flamsteed-objects", "henry-draper-catalogue-objects", "hipparcos-objects", "auriga", "classical-cepheid-variables", "f-type-supergiants", "objects-with-variable-star-designations", "bright-star-catalogue-objects", "durchmusterung-objects", "g-type-supergiants", "population-i-stars"] description: "Star in the constellation Auriga" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_Aurigae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Star in the constellation Auriga ::

|name=RT Aurigae | image= |image=Auriga constellation map.svg |float=center |alt= |label= |position=right |width=280 |mark=Red circle.svg |mark_width=10 |mark_link=RT Aur |x=184|y=688 |caption=Location of RT Aur (circled) |epoch=J2000 |ra= |dec= |appmag_v=5.75 (5.00 - 5.82) |constell=Auriga |class=F8Ib (F4Ib - G4Ib) |r-i = |v-r = |b-v = 0.74 |u-b = 0.5 |variable=δ Cep |radial_v=20.30 |prop_mo_ra=−0.492 |prop_mo_dec=−13.441 |pm_footnote = |parallax=1.8153 |p_error=0.1222 | parallax_footnote= |dist_ly=1,540 |dist_pc=473 |absmag_v=−3.09 |mass=4.4 |radius= |luminosity= |temperature= |metal=0.1 |gravity=1.42 |rotational_velocity=8.8 |age_myr=85 |names=48 Aurigae, HD 45412, BD+30°1238, HIP 30827, SAO 59128, HR 2332 |Simbad=HD+45412 |ARICNS=

RT Aurigae (RT Aur, 48 Aurigae) is a yellow supergiant variable star in the constellation Auriga, about 1,500 light years from Earth. Although its brightness is variable, it as consistently visible to the naked eye under good observing conditions.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/RTAurLightCurve.png" caption="visual band]] [[light curve]] for RT Aurigae, adapted from Kiss (1998)"] ::

RT Aurigae is an F to G type Classical Cepheid variable which varies from magnitude +5.00 to +5.82 with a period of 3.728309 days. More accurate observations eventually proved beyond doubt that the brightness variations were caused by pulsations in the atmospheres of the stars, with the stars being smallest and hottest near maximum brightness.

RT Aurigae has been suspected to be a spectroscopic binary system, but this has not been confirmed. The strongest evidence was found in 2013 using CHARA array optical interferometry. The companion would be 6.7 magnitudes fainter than the supergiant primary, cooler and fainter than an F0 main sequence star. The two stars are separated by 2.1 milli-arc seconds.

References

References

  1. (2010). "The PASTEL catalogue of stellar parameters". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  2. (2008). "A catalogue of multiplicity among bright stellar systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  3. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S.
  4. (2002). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: Catalogue of Stellar Photometry in Johnson's 11-color system". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues.
  5. (2006). "Pulkovo Compilation of Radial Velocities for 35 495 Hipparcos stars in a common system". Astronomy Letters.
  6. {{cite Gaia EDR3. 3435571660360952704
  7. (2013). "Baade-Wesselink distances to Galactic and Magellanic Cloud Cepheids and the effect of metallicity". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  8. (August 2019). "Photo-astrometric distances, extinctions, and astrophysical parameters for Gaia DR2 stars brighter than G = 18". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  9. (January 2014). "A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars: V. Southern stars⋆⋆⋆". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  10. (2012). "Galactic restrictions on iron production by various types of supernovae". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  11. (1909). "The Orbits of the Cepheid Variables Y Sagittarii and RT Auriga; with a Discussion of the Possible Causes of this Type of Stellar Variation". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
  12. (1916). "The variations in spectral type of twenty Cepheid variables". Astrophysical Journal.
  13. (1992). "A magnitude-limited survey of Cepheid companions in the ultraviolet". Astrophysical Journal.
  14. (2007). "The Period Changes of the Cepheid RT Aurigae". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
  15. (2015). "Robust high-contrast companion detection from interferometric observations. The CANDID algorithm and an application to six binary Cepheids". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  16. (July 1998). "A photometric and spectroscopic study of the brightest northern Cepheids - I. Observations". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  17. (May 1905). "Papers communicated to the Association. The Variable Star 48 Aurigæ". Journal of the British Astronomical Association.
  18. (April 2014). "Thomas Hinsley Astbury: from an English market town schoolroom to the internal constitution of the stars". Journal of the British Astronomical Association.
  19. (May 25, 2021). "Extended envelopes around Galactic Cepheids. V. Multi-wavelength and time-dependent analysis of IR excess". Astronomy & Astrophysics.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

flamsteed-objectshenry-draper-catalogue-objectshipparcos-objectsaurigaclassical-cepheid-variablesf-type-supergiantsobjects-with-variable-star-designationsbright-star-catalogue-objectsdurchmusterung-objectsg-type-supergiantspopulation-i-stars