KSw 71 is a rapidly-spinning star in the constellation of Lyra. It is thought to have formed after two stars in a close binary system merged; its rotation has deformed it into an oblate spheroid shape. KSw 71 was discovered, alongside other pumpkin-shaped stars by NASA's Kepler and Swift missions and produces X-rays at more than 100 times the peak levels ever seen from the Sun.[4]

KSw 71

Artist's impression of KSw 71
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Lyra
Right ascension 19h 14m 17.266s[1]
Declination +42° 36′ 31.59″[1]
Characteristics
Spectral type K0-2 IV-III[2]
Details
Mass0.8257[3] M
Radius10.5[2] R
Surface gravity (log g)4.38[3] cgs
Temperature4,967[3] K
Rotation5.22 days[2]
Rotational velocity (v sin i)98.6 – 116[2] km/s
Other designations
2MASS J19141726+4236315, KIC 7107762
Database references
SIMBADdata
KICdata

18 "pumpkin stars" have been discovered,[5] including this one.

References

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  1. ^ a b Skrutskie, Michael F.; Cutri, Roc M.; Stiening, Rae; Weinberg, Martin D.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Carpenter, John M.; Beichman, Charles A.; Capps, Richard W.; Chester, Thomas; Elias, Jonathan H.; Huchra, John P.; Liebert, James W.; Lonsdale, Carol J.; Monet, David G.; Price, Stephan; Seitzer, Patrick; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Fullmer, Linda; Hurt, Robert L.; Light, Robert M.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Tam, Robert; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Wheelock, Sherry L. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 18913331.
  2. ^ a b c d Howell, Steve B.; Mason, Elena; Boyd, Patricia; Smith, Krista Lynne; Gelino, Dawn M. (2016). "Rapidly Rotating, X-Ray Bright Stars in the Kepler Field". The Astrophysical Journal. 831 (1): 27. arXiv:1608.07828v1. Bibcode:2016ApJ...831...27H. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/831/1/27. S2CID 42256068.
  3. ^ a b c McQuillan, A.; Mazeh, T.; Aigrain, S. (2014). "Rotation Periods of 34,030 Keplermain-Sequence Stars: The Full Autocorrelation Sample". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 211 (2): 24. arXiv:1402.5694v2. Bibcode:2014ApJS..211...24M. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/211/2/24. S2CID 119113480.
  4. ^ Reddy, Francis (27 October 2016). "NASA Missions Harvest a Passel of 'Pumpkin' Stars". NASA. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ^ Viz, NASA (8 October 2018). "NASA Viz: Pumpkin Stars". svs.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
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