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S Normae

Star in the constellation Norma

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated September 11, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

S Normae (S Nor) is a yellow supergiant variable star in the constellation Norma. It is the brightest member of the open cluster NGC 6087.

S Normae is a Classical Cepheid variable with a visual magnitude range of 6.12 to 6.77 and a period of 9.75411 days. The spectral type varies during the pulsation cycle from F8 to G0. Its mass has been measured at 6.3 M☉ with reference to a close orbital companion, and it is over 3,000 times as luminous as the sun.

01Companions

S Normae is a spectroscopic binary, although the companion has now been resolved using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. The separation was 0.90" in April 2011, corresponding to 817 AU. This gives the rare opportunity for a direct determination of the mass of a Cepheid variable star and confirmation of other properties. It is a supergiant that is 6.3 times as massive as the Sun and 2,800 times as luminous. The companion a 2.4 M☉ blue-white main sequence star of spectral type B9.5.

There is a more distant 10th magnitude companion at 30", unsurprising in the centre of an open cluster. It is TYC 8719-794-1, a chemically peculiar A or B class star. Three fainter companions have also been found: a 14th magnitude star at 14"; and two 16th magnitude stars at 20".

S Normae is the brightest member of the open cluster NGC 6087.
S Normae is the brightest member of the open cluster NGC 6087.
S Normae system, showing the "spectroscopic" companion and the three faint nearby companions, but not TYC 8719-794-1
S Normae system, showing the "spectroscopic" companion and the three faint nearby companions, but not TYC 8719-794-1
A light curve for S Normae, plotted from TESS data
A light curve for S Normae, plotted from TESS data
Watch videos about S NormaeExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “S Normae”, 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.

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