Delta Apodis
Double star in the constellation Apus
Delta Apodis is a double star in the southern constellation of Apus. Its identifier is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from δ Apodis, and abbreviated Del Aps or δ Aps, respectively. Based on parallax measurements, the distance to δ1 Apodis is approximately 620 light years, while δ2 Apodis is found to be around 563 light years from Earth. They may form a common proper motion pair.
The brighter star, δ1 Apodis, has an apparent magnitude that varies from +4.66 to +4.87. It is a red giant with a stellar classification of M5 IIIb, and is classified as a semiregular variable with pulsations of multiple periods of 68.0, 94.9 and 101.7 days. δ2 Apodis has an apparent magnitude of +5.27 and is an orange K-type giant with a class of K3 III. Both stars are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye under good observing conditions. The pair have an angular separation of 103.4 arcseconds (as of 2016), which is wide enough to allow them to be seen individually by a person with good eyesight.
01Naming
In Chinese caused by adaptation of the European southern hemisphere constellations into the Chinese system, 異雀 (Yì Què), meaning Exotic Bird, refers to an asterism consisting of δ1 Apodis, ζ Apodis, ι Apodis, β Apodis, γ Apodis, δ Octantis, η Apodis, α Apodis and ε Apodis. Consequently, δ1 Apodis itself is known as 異雀六 (Yì Què liù, English: the Sixth Star of Exotic Bird.)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Delta Apodis”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Apus constellation map.svg by Apus_constellation_map.png: Torsten Bronger derivative work: Kxx (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Delta1ApsLightCurve.png by PopePompus, CC BY-SA 4.0
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