CS Camelopardalis
Encyclopedia
CS Camelopardalis (CS Cam) is a binary star
in reflection nebula
e vdB 14, in the constellation
Camelopardalis
. It was designated B Cam or 2H
.Cam.
The primary component, CS Camelopardalis A, is a blue-white B-type
supergiant
with a mean apparent magnitude
of 4.21m. It is classified as an Alpha Cygni type
variable star
and its brightness varies from magnitude 4.19m to 4.23m. Its companion, CS Camelopardalis B, is a magnitude 8.7m star located 2.9 arcseconds from the primary.
Binary star
A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
in reflection nebula
Reflection nebula
In Astronomy, reflection nebulae are clouds of dust which are simply reflecting the light of a nearby star or stars. The energy from the nearby star, or stars, is insufficient to ionize the gas of the nebula to create an emission nebula, but is enough to give sufficient scattering to make the dust...
e vdB 14, in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis is a large but faint constellation in the northern sky. The constellation was introduced in 1612 by Petrus Plancius. Some older astronomy books give an alternative spelling of the name, Camelopardus.-Etymology:...
. It was designated B Cam or 2H
Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish:Some sources refer to Hevelius as German:*Encyplopedia Britannica * of the Royal Society was a councilor and mayor of Danzig , Pomeranian Voivodeship, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
.Cam.
The primary component, CS Camelopardalis A, is a blue-white B-type
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
supergiant
Supergiant
Supergiants are among the most massive stars. They occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. In the Yerkes spectral classification, supergiants are class Ia or Ib . They typically have bolometric absolute magnitudes between -5 and -12...
with a mean apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of 4.21m. It is classified as an Alpha Cygni type
Alpha Cygni variable
Alpha Cygni variables are variable stars which exhibit non-radial pulsations, meaning that some portions of the stellar surface are contracting at the same time others parts expand. They are supergiant stars of spectral types B or A...
variable star
Variable star
A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth...
and its brightness varies from magnitude 4.19m to 4.23m. Its companion, CS Camelopardalis B, is a magnitude 8.7m star located 2.9 arcseconds from the primary.