RT Carinae
{{Short description|Star in the constellation Carina}}
{{Starbox begin
| name = RT Carinae}}
{{Starbox image
| image = 280px
| caption = RT Carinae is the bright orange star south of the Trumpler 15 cluster.
}}
{{Starbox observe
| epoch = J2000.0
| equinox = J2000.0
| constell = Carina
| dec = {{DEC|-59|24|48.1228}}
| appmag_v=8.36 {{nowrap|(8.2 - 9.9)}}
}}
{{Starbox character
| class = M2+ Iab{{cite journal
| first1=P. | last1=Keenan
| first2=R. | last2=McNeil
| title=The Perkins catalog of revised MK types for the cooler stars
| journal=Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
| volume=71 | pages=245–266 | date=October 1989
| bibcode=1989ApJS...71..245K | doi=10.1086/191373| s2cid=123149047
}}
| variable = LC{{cite journal|bibcode=2009yCat....102025S|title=VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)|journal=VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S|volume=1|display-authors=etal|last1=Samus|first1=N. N.|last2=Durlevich|first2=O. V.|year=2009}}
}}
{{Starbox astrometry
| radial_v = {{val|-21.95|0.58}}
| prop_mo_ra = −7.432
| prop_mo_dec = 2.851
| pm_footnote = {{cite Gaia DR3|5350389095946525568}}
| parallax = 0.470
| p_error = 0.069
}}
{{Starbox detail
| mass=
| radius=1,090
| luminosity_bolometric={{val|129,000|33000|24000|fmt=commas}}{{Cite journal|last1=Davies|first1=Ben|last2=Beasor|first2=Emma R.|date=March 2020|title=The 'red supergiant problem': the upper luminosity boundary of Type II supernova progenitors|bibcode=2020MNRAS.493..468D|journal=MNRAS|language=en|volume=493|issue=1|pages=468–476|doi=10.1093/mnras/staa174|doi-access=free |arxiv=2001.06020 |s2cid=210714093}}
| temperature=3,625
| metal=
| gravity=−0.3
| rotation=
| age=
}}
{{Starbox catalog
| names=RT Car, HD 303310, HIP 52562, SAO 238424, CD−58°3538, AAVSO 1040-58
}}
{{Starbox reference
| Simbad=RT+Car
}}
{{Starbox end}}
RT Carinae, also known as CD-58 3538, is a red supergiant and a variable star, located 7,000 light years away in the constellation Carina. It is in the Carina Nebula. The average apparent magnitude of +8.55, too faint to be visible to the naked eye.
Characteristics
RT Carinae is a red supergiant with a spectral type of M2+ Iab and has a temperature of 3,660 K. It is about 1,090 times larger than the Sun and is estimated to be 130,000 times more luminous. It is close to the open cluster Trumpler 15, but is not thought to be a member.{{cite journal|bibcode=2006MNRAS.367..763S|arxiv=astro-ph/0601060|title=A census of the Carina Nebula - I. Cumulative energy input from massive stars|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=367|issue=2|pages=763–772|last1=Smith|first1=Nathan|year=2006|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10007.x|doi-access=free |s2cid=14060690}} It appears to be surrounded by a dusty nebula, possibly material ejected from the star itself.{{cite journal|bibcode=1986ApL....25...39F|title=RT Carinae; a late type supergiant within an elongated dusty nebula|journal=Astrophysical Letters|volume=25|pages=39|last1=Forte|first1=J. C.|last2=Marraco|first2=H. G.|year=1986}}
File:RTCarLightCurve.png light curve for RT Carinae, plotted from ASAS data]]
In 1898 it was announced that Louisa D. Wells had discovered that the star's brightness varies. The initial variable star designation given was R Carinae, but that name was eventually given to a different star. It appears with its current name, RT Carinae, in Annie Jump Cannon's 1907 work, Second Catalogue of Variable Stars. It is catalogued as an irregular variable star, but a number of possible pulsation periods have been detected. Analysis from observations over 40 years give variations with periods of 201 and 448 days, with other studies suggesting periods of 100 and 1,400 days.{{cite journal|bibcode=2006MNRAS.372.1721K|arxiv=astro-ph/0608438|title=Variability in red supergiant stars: Pulsations, long secondary periods and convection noise|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=372|issue=4|pages=1721–1734|last1=Kiss|first1=L. L.|last2=Szabó|first2=Gy. M.|last3=Bedding|first3=T. R.|author3-link= Tim Bedding|year=2006|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10973.x|doi-access=free |s2cid=5203133}}
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{Cite journal |last=Berlanas |first=S. R. |last2=Maíz Apellániz |first2=J. |last3=Herrero |first3=A. |last4=Mahy |first4=L. |last5=Blomme |first5=R. |last6=Negueruela |first6=I. |last7=Dorda |first7=R. |last8=Comerón |first8=F. |last9=Gosset |first9=E. |last10=Pantaleoni González |first10=M. |last11=Molina Lera |first11=J. A. |last12=Sota |first12=A. |last13=Furst |first13=T. |last14=Alfaro |first14=E. J. |last15=Bergemann |first15=M. |date=2023-03-01 |title=Gaia-ESO survey: Massive stars in the Carina Nebula. I. A new census of OB stars |bibcode=2023A&A...671A..20B |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=671 |pages=A20 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202245335 |issn=0004-6361|arxiv=2301.08310 }} [https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=J/A%2BA/671/A20&Name=HDE%20303%20310 RT Carinae's database entry] at VizieR.
| last1=Cannon | first1=Annie J. | title=Second catalogue of variable stars
| journal=Annals of Harvard College Observatory
| date=1907 | volume=55 | pages=1-94 | bibcode=1907AnHar..55....1C
| url=https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1907AnHar..55....1C | access-date=8 January 2025}}
}}
{{Stars of Carina}}
Category:Carina (constellation)
Category:Slow irregular variables