The Star
The star is thought to be much more massive, larger, and brighter than the Sun. The higher mass of the star causes that despite considerably younger age (2.0 Ga) it is already much more evolved than the Sun. The internal fusion of hydrogen in the core of the star is coming to an end, and it is beginning to evolve towards red gianthood. HD 149026 is about 260 light-years distant, which means the star is not visible to the unaided eye. However, it should be an easy target to binoculars or a small telescope.
The star is over twice as enriched with chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium as the Sun. Because of this and the fact that the star is relatively bright, a group of astronomers in N2K Consortium began to study the star. The star's anomalous composition as measured may be surface pollution only, from the intake of heavy-element planetesimals.
Read more about this topic: HD 149026
Famous quotes containing the word star:
“The eager fate which carried thee
Took the largest part of me:
For this losing is true dying;
This is lordly man’s down-lying,
This his slow but sure reclining,
Star by star his world resigning.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I have drunk ale from the Country of the Young
And weep because I know all things now:
I have been a hazel-tree, and they hung
The Pilot Star and the Crooked Plough
Among my leaves in times out of mind....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)