QS Telescopii

QS Telescopii

A visual band light curve for QS Telescopii, adapted from Rosen et al. (1996)[1]
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Telescopium
Right ascension 19h 38m 35.816s[2]
Declination −46° 12′ 57.11″[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type M4.5±0.5[3]
Variable type AM Her[4]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)110 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: +35.150 mas/yr[2]
Dec.: −25.496 mas/yr[2]
Parallax (π)5.3378 ± 0.0834 mas[2]
Distance611 ± 10 ly
(187 ± 3 pc)
Orbit[5]
Period (P)2.33 h
Eccentricity (e)0.0
Details
White Dwarf
Mass0.71[6] M☉
Temperature17,500[6] K
Other designations
QS Tel, EUVE J1938-46.2, RE 1938-461, AAVSO 1931-46[7]
Database references
SIMBADdata

QS Telescopii is a faint, well-studied[4] binary star system in the southern constellation Telescopium.[7] It is composed of a white dwarf and main sequence donor star, locked into a close, circular orbit facing one another. Known as polars, material from the donor star does not form an accretion disk around the white dwarf, but rather streams directly onto it.[6] This is due to the presence of the white dwarf's strong magnetic field. The pair undergo frequent shifts between a high and low accretion states, and it shifts between single and double accretion poles. The main pole is partially self-eclipsing.[4]

The pair orbit each other with a period of 2.33[5] hours in a circular orbit. The donor star is a small red dwarf with an estimated stellar classification of M4−5.[3] The white dwarf primary has 71% of the mass of the Sun and an effective temperature of 17,500 K.[6] It has a magnetic field strength of 50–80 MG. The system is a source for X-ray emission.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rosen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference GaiaDR2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Knigge2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Traulsen 2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Augusteijn_et_al_2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Gerke_et_al_2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SIMBAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).