Magnitude 4.62 Apparent magnitude (V) 4.62 | ||
 | ||
People also search for Alpha Serpentis, Beta Serpentis | ||
Theta Serpentis (θ Serpentis, abbreviated Theta Ser, θ Ser) is a triple star system in the constellation of Serpens and approximately 132 light years from the Sun. Its three components are designated Theta¹ Serpentis (also named Alya), Theta² Serpentis and Theta Serpentis C.
Contents
Nomenclature
θ Serpentis (Latinised to Theta Serpentis) is the system's Bayer designation; θ¹ and θ² Serpentis those of the brightest two components. The designation of the third component - Theta Serpentis C - derives from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
The system bore the traditional name Alya, or Alga, from the Arabic الية ’alyah "fat tail (of a sheep)". In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Dzaneb al Haiyet, which was translated into Latin as Cauda Serpentis, meaning the serpent's tail. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Alya for Theta¹ Serpentis on 21 August 2016 and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.
In Chinese, 天市左垣 (Tiān Shì Zuǒ Yuán), meaning Left Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure, refers to an asterism which represents eleven old states in China, consisting of Theta Serpentis, Delta Herculis, Lambda Herculis, Mu Herculis, Omicron Herculis, 112 Herculis, Zeta Aquilae, Eta Serpentis, Nu Ophiuchi, Xi Serpentis and Eta Ophiuchi. Consequently, Theta Serpentis itself is known as 天市左垣七 (Tiān Shì Zuǒ Yuán qī, English: the Seventh Star of Left Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure), representing the state Xu (徐).
Properties
Both Theta¹ Serpentis and Theta² Serpentis are white A-type main sequence dwarfs. θ¹ has an apparent magnitude of +4.62 while the slightly dimmer θ² has a magnitude of +4.98. These two stars are 22 arcseconds apart on the sky, putting them at least 900 astronomical units apart with an orbital period of at least 14,000 years. Both stars are similar to each other in all respects, having luminosities of 18 and 13 times solar respectively, radii of about twice solar and also masses of roughly 2 times that of the Sun. Both star have a surface temperature of 8,000 kelvins.
Theta Serpentis C is a yellow G-type star with an apparent magnitude of +6.71. It is separated by 7 arcminutes from θ².