KSw 71 is a rapidly-spinning star in the constellation of Lyra. It is thought to have formed after two stars in a close binary system merged; its rotation has deformed it into an oblate spheroid shape. KSw 71 was discovered, alongside other pumpkin-shaped stars by NASA‘s Kepler and Swift missions and produces X-rays at more than 100 times the peak levels ever seen from the Sun.[5]
18 “pumpkin stars” have been discovered,[6] including this one.
References
- ^ Roman, Nancy G. (1987). “Identification of a constellation from a position”. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 99 (617): 695. Bibcode:1987PASP…99..695R. doi:10.1086/132034. Constellation record for this object at VizieR.
- ^ a b c d Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). “Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties”. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A…674A…1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
- ^ a b c d Howell, Steve B.; Mason, Elena; Boyd, Patricia; Smith, Krista Lynne; Gelino, Dawn M. (2016). “Rapidly Rotating, X-Ray Bright Stars in the Kepler Field”. The Astrophysical Journal. 831 (1): 27. arXiv:1608.07828v1. Bibcode:2016ApJ…831…27H. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/831/1/27. S2CID 42256068.
- ^ a b c McQuillan, A.; Mazeh, T.; Aigrain, S. (2014). “Rotation Periods of 34,030 Keplermain-Sequence Stars: The Full Autocorrelation Sample”. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 211 (2): 24. arXiv:1402.5694v2. Bibcode:2014ApJS..211…24M. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/211/2/24. S2CID 119113480.
- ^ Reddy, Francis (27 October 2016). “NASA Missions Harvest a Passel of ‘Pumpkin’ Stars”. NASA. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ Viz, NASA (8 October 2018). “NASA Viz: Pumpkin Stars”. svs.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 17 January 2021.