Zeta Sagittae

Zeta Sagittae
Location of ζ Sagittae (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Sagitta
Right ascension 19h 48m 58.65978s
Declination +19° 08 31.3516
Apparent magnitude (V) +5.00 (5.64 + 6.04 + 9.01)
Characteristics
Spectral type A3 Vnn (A1 V + A3 V)
U−B color index +0.06
B−V color index +0.10
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ) RA: +17.63 mas/yr
Dec.: +26.27 mas/yr
Parallax (π)12.79±0.67 mas
Distance260 ± 10 ly
(78 ± 4 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)+0.55
Orbit
Period (P)8487.9±4.9 d
Semi-major axis (a)0.13605±0.00044
Eccentricity (e)0.7948±0.0019
Inclination (i)132.33±0.41°
Longitude of the node (Ω)340.97±0.68°
Periastron epoch (T)44199.6±5.9 HMJD
Argument of periastron (ω)
(secondary)
355.3±1.0°
Details
ζ Sge A
Mass1.80 M
Radius1.7 R
Luminosity46 L
Surface gravity (log g)3.89 cgs
Temperature8,422±286 K
Rotational velocity (v sin i)240 km/s
Age347 Myr
Other designations
ζ Sge, 8 Sge, BD+19°4229, GC 27431, HD 187362, HIP 97496, HR 7546, SAO 105298, PPM 137034, ADS 12973, WDS J19490+1909AB
Database references
SIMBADdata

Zeta Sagittae (ζ Sagittae) is triple star system in the northern constellation of Sagitta. It is visible to the naked eye, having a combined apparent visual magnitude of +5.00. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.79 mas, the distance to this star is approximately 260 light years.

The inner pair is a visual binary system consisting of two A-type main-sequence stars with an orbital period of 23.2 years (8,487.9 d), a semimajor axis of 0.136 arc seconds, and an eccentricity of 0.79. The primary, component A, has a visual magnitude of 5.64 with a stellar classification of A3 Vnn, where the 'nn' suffix indicates "nebulous" lines due to rotation. It is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 240 km/s. This is giving the star an oblate shape with an equatorial bulge that is 14% larger than the polar radius.

The secondary member, component B, is a magnitude 6.04 star, while the more distant component C is magnitude 9.01 and lies at an angular separation of 8.330 arc seconds from the other two.