Sterope (star)

Position of the Asterope pair in the Pleiades

The Sterope /ˈstɛrəpiː/ or Asterope /əˈstɛrəpiː/[1] system is a double star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. Its components have the Flamsteed designations 21 Tauri and 22 Tauri,[2] and are sometimes known as Sterope I and Sterope II, respectively.[3]

The International Astronomical Union applies the name Asterope specifically to 21 Tauri.[4] The two stars are thus

The two stars are separated by 0.047° on the sky, which is equal to 2.82 arc-minutes and thus closer than the usual naked-eye resolution limit of 4 arc-min, giving an elongated appearance of the two together. Both are members of the Pleiades open star cluster (M45) and approximately 440 light-years from the Sun.

  1. ^ Davis, George A. (1944). "The pronunciations, derivations, and meanings of a selected list of star names". Popular Astronomy. 52: 8–30. Bibcode:1944PA.....52....8D.
  2. ^ Burnham, Robert (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System. Vol. 3. Courier Corporation. p. 1883. ISBN 9780486236735.
  3. ^ Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963). Star names - Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Books. p. 407. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  4. ^ "Naming Stars". IAU.org. Retrieved 18 June 2018.