· · · ·

One of a trio of stars designated 'Psi Aquarii' in the eastern parts of Aquarius. Despite their shared Bayer designation, these three stars are unconnected, apart from the fact that they lie on a close line of sight as seen from Earth. Psi3 is the southernmost of the three, and also the faintest, though not the most distant. Psi2 lies considerably farther from the Solar System than Psi3, but is a much more luminous star, and so appears brighter in the sky.

This is a multiple star, with the primary being a dwarf of the A-type white classification, nearly three times the Sun's diameter and more than fifty times as luminous. Pursuing a wide orbit around this white star at a distance of some 120 AU is a companion star, which appears to be unusually active and emits high levels of X-rays. There are also indications of second companion star in a still more distant orbit around the white primary.

Indexes

Related Entries