Gaia Shows That Messier 40 is Definitely Not a Binary Star
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
2016-12-05 v1
Abstract
M40 has always been something of an oddity in the Messier Catalogue, since it is just a pair of stars rather than an extended object. Doubts have also been expressed as to whether it is even a physical binary. Here, we note that the Hipparcos/Gaia parallaxes for these two stars remove all doubt: Messier 40 comprises a pair of entirely unrelated stars.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1612.00834,
title = {Gaia Shows That Messier 40 is Definitely Not a Binary Star},
author = {Michael R. Merrifield and Meghan E. Gray and Brady Haran},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1612.00834},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
1 page. Refereed and accepted for publication in Observatory