Alcyone (η Tau / η Tauri / Eta Tauri) is a star system in the constellation Taurus. It is the brightest star in the Pleiades open cluster. Alcyone is approximately 440 light years from Earth. It is named after the mythological figure Alcyone, one of the mythological Pleiades.

Description

The primary component, Alcyone A, is a blue-white B-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +2.85. It is an eclipsing binary, and the two components have a separation of 0.031 arcseconds, or about the distance from the Sun to Jupiter.

The binary star is orbited by three companions. Alcyone B and Alcyone C are both 8th magnitude white A-type dwarfs and are separated from A by 117 and 181 arcseconds respectively. Alcyone D is a yellow-white F-type dwarf, 191 arcseconds from the primary. It has an apparent magnitude of +8.7. Alcyone C is classified as a Delta Scuti type variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +8.25 to +8.30 over 1.13 hours.

Alcyone A has a luminosity of 1,400 times that of the Sun and a temperature of almost 13,000 K. The spectral type of B7 IIIe indicates that it is an emission star. A high rotational velocity of some 215 km/s has created a disk of gases flung into orbit around the star from its equator.

It is known as 昴宿六 (the Sixth Star of the Hairy Head) in Chinese.

External links

* [http://www.alcyone.com/info.html#alcyone Alcyone and the Pleiades]
* [http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/alcyone.html Alcyone]

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Alcyone (disambiguation) — Alcyone, in Greek mythology, is the daughter of Aeolus and wife of CeyxAlcyone may also refer to:* Alcyone (Pleiades), in Greek mythology, one of the Pleiades * Alcyone (star), a star in the Pleiades cluster * Cleopatra Alcyone, the wife of… … Wikipedia
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Alcyone — [al sī′ə nē΄] n. [L < Gr Alkyonē, daughter of Aeolus] the brightest star in the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus: magnitude, 2.96 … English World dictionary
Alcyone — In Greek mythology, Alcyone (Greek: polytonic|Ἁλκυόνη) was the daughter of Aeolus, either by Enarete or Aegiale. She married Ceyx, son of Eosphorus, the Morning Star.They were very happy together in Trachis, and according to Pseudo Apollodorus s… … Wikipedia
Alcyone — /al suy euh nee /, n. 1. a third magnitude star in the constellation Taurus: brightest star in the Pleiades. 2. Also, Halcyon, Halcyone. Class. Myth. a daughter of Aeolus who, with her husband, Ceyx, was transformed into a kingfisher. * * * … Universalium
Alcyone — Al•cy•o•ne [[t]ælˈsaɪ əˌni[/t]] n. astron. a third magnitude star in the constellation Taurus: brightest star in the Pleiades • Etymology: < GkAlkyónē; cf. halcyon … From formal English to slang
Alcyone — /ælˈsiəni/ (say al seeuhnee) noun a star of the third magnitude in the constellation Taurus; the brightest star in the group known as the Pleiades. Also, Halcyone. {variant of halcyon} …
Alcyone — noun (Greek mythology) a woman who was turned into a kingfisher • Syn: ↑Halcyon • Topics: ↑Greek mythology • Instance Hypernyms: ↑mythical being * * * /al suy euh nee /, n … Useful english dictionary
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Alcyone (star)

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