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VB 10
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>VB 10 was discovered in 1944 by the astronomer <a href="/facts/George_van_Biesbroeck/SM07G4MS">George van Biesbroeck</a> using the 82 in (2.1 m) <a href="/facts/Otto_Struve_Telescope/5y02WAVX">Otto Struve reflector telescope</a> at the <a href="/facts/McDonald_Observatory/sop8npHh">McDonald Observatory</a>. He found it while surveying the telescopic field of view of the high-<a href="/facts/Proper_motion/ECByRQ8c">proper-motion</a> <a href="/facts/Red_dwarf/56CMQcF0">red dwarf</a> <a href="/facts/Gliese_752/SYrhzS0g">Gliese 752</a> (Wolf 1055), for companions. <a href="/facts/Wolf_1055/SYrhzS0g">Wolf 1055</a> had been catalogued 25 years earlier by <a href="/facts/Germans/F7mBCrJ4">German</a> astronomer <a href="/facts/Max_Wolf/pPkp5Tmo">Max Wolf</a> using similar <a href="/facts/Astrophotography/NeWNUJEn">astrophotographic</a> techniques. It is designated VB 10 in the 1961 publication of <a href="/facts/Van_Biesbroeck%2527s_star_catalog/EJPL89mo">Van Biesbroeck's star catalog</a>. Later, other astronomers began referring to it as <a href="/facts/Stars_named_after_people/GytwHFH9">Van Biesbroeck's star</a> in honor of its discoverer. Because it is so dim and so close to its much brighter <a href="/facts/Binary_star/TYlDe1bD">primary star</a>, earlier <a href="/facts/Astronomical_surveys/6BE1V8V6">astronomical surveys</a> missed it even though its large <a href="/facts/Parallax/Gu8W21LP">parallax</a> and large <a href="/facts/Proper_motion/ECByRQ8c">proper motion</a> should have made it stand out on <a href="/facts/Photographic_plates/LbTmHKJb">photographic plates</a> taken at different times.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2> <p>VB 10 has an extremely low luminosity with a baseline <a href="/facts/Absolute_magnitude/R8RVxkLx">absolute magnitude</a> of nearly 19 and an apparent magnitude of 17.3 (somewhat variable), making it very difficult to see. </p><p>Mathematical formulae<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> for calculating <a href="/facts/Apparent_magnitude/7pCTF1Me">apparent magnitude</a> show that, if VB 10 occupied the place of the Sun, it would shine on Earth's sky at a magnitude of −12.87—approximately the same magnitude of that of the <a href="/facts/Full_moon/NRMWFPh2">full moon</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>Later researchers also noted that its mass, at 0.08 solar mass (<a href="/facts/Solar_mass/j6Auhku8">M☉</a>), is right at the lower limit needed to create internal pressures and temperatures high enough to initiate <a href="/facts/Nuclear_fusion/hP0gLDqj">nuclear fusion</a> and actually be a <a href="/facts/Star/euBFuo07">star</a> rather than a <a href="/facts/Brown_dwarf/fa7kr9lH">brown dwarf</a>. At the time of its discovery it was the lowest-mass star known. The previous record holder for the lowest mass was <a href="/facts/Wolf_359/u7BuBeN5">Wolf 359</a> at 0.09 M☉.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>VB 10 is also notable by its very large <a href="/facts/Proper_motion/ECByRQ8c">proper motion</a>, moving more than one <a href="/facts/Arc_second/tybs6YGC">arc second</a> a year through the sky as seen from Earth.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h3>Flare star</h3> <p>VB 10 is a <a href="/facts/Variable_star/Ac8mp2gy">variable star</a> and is identified in the <a href="/facts/General_Catalogue_of_Variable_Stars/E0Q7I4bn">General Catalogue of Variable Stars</a> as V1298 Aquilae. It is a <a href="/facts/UV_Ceti/cFcPAtsC">UV Ceti</a>-type variable star and is known to be subject to frequent <a href="/facts/Flare_star/lGqncdn8">flare events</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Its dynamics were studied from the <a href="/facts/Hubble_Space_Telescope/NQeIf0vw">Hubble Space Telescope</a> in the mid-1990s. Although VB 10 has a normal low surface temperature of 2600 <a href="/facts/Kelvin/E3trzC4C">K</a> it was found to produce violent flares of up to 100,000 K.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> This came as a surprise to astronomers. It had previously been assumed that low mass red dwarfs would have insignificant or nonexistent magnetic fields, which are necessary for the production of solar flares. The dwarfs were believed to lack the radiative zone just outside the star's core that powers the <a href="/facts/Dynamo/REfYHz3k">dynamo</a> of stars like our <a href="/facts/Sun/CadPCVHh">Sun</a>. Nevertheless, the detection of solar flares indicates some as yet unknown process allows the solely convective cores of low mass stars to produce sufficient magnetic fields to power such outbursts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="binary-star">Binary star</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Gliese_752/SYrhzS0g">Gliese 752</a></p> <p>VB 10 is the <a href="/facts/Binary_star/TYlDe1bD">secondary star</a> of a bound <a href="/facts/Binary_star/TYlDe1bD">binary star</a> system. The primary is called Gliese 752, and hence VB 10 is also referred to as Gliese 752 B. The primary star is much larger and brighter. The two stars are separated by about 74 arc seconds (~434 AU).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="claims-of-a-planetary-system">Claims of a planetary system</h2> <p>In May 2009, astronomers from <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a>'s <a href="/facts/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory/zPXnxRBf">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>, <a href="/facts/Pasadena%2c_California/Y6AEEI03">Pasadena, California</a>, announced that they had found evidence of a planet orbiting VB 10, which they designated VB 10b. The 200 in (5.1 m) <a href="/facts/Hale_Telescope/NNgtWTV9">Hale Telescope</a> at the <a href="/facts/Palomar_Observatory/vRLjmDfr">Palomar Observatory</a> was used to detect evidence of this planet using the <a href="/facts/Methods_of_detecting_extrasolar_planets/vFIblQe9">astrometry method</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> The new planet was claimed to have a mass 6 times that of <a href="/facts/Jupiter/95m7XjMT">Jupiter</a> and an orbital period of 270 days. However, subsequent studies using <a href="/facts/Doppler_spectroscopy/0uTvj3pq">Doppler spectroscopy</a> failed to detect the <a href="/facts/Methods_of_detecting_extrasolar_planets/vFIblQe9">radial velocity</a> variations that would be expected if such a planet was orbiting this small star.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> The claimants of VB 10b note that these Doppler measurements only rule out planets more massive than 3 times the mass of Jupiter, but this limit is only half the reported best-fit mass of the planet as originally claimed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> The claims for this planet thus fall into a long history of claimed astrometric <a href="/facts/Extrasolar_planet/zjfmqfUf">extrasolar planet</a> detections that were subsequently refuted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> </p><p>By 2016, it was suspected that the asymmetric debris disk signal was mistaken for the long-period planet.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_smallest_stars/4CJ6csC1">List of smallest stars</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_stars_named_after_people/GytwHFH9">List of stars named after people</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170514122205/https://www.nasa.gov/mov/352427main_C-vb10motion200905-640.mov">"A movie of the proper motion of VB 10 across the sky"</a>. Archived from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mov/352427main_C-vb10motion200905-640.mov">the original</a> (<a href="/facts/.mov/WQVMMCQT">.mov file</a> / 323 KB) on 14 May 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2009.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Charles Earle Funk (1936) What's the Name, Please?: A Guide to the Correct Pronunciation of Current Prominent Names, p.161 <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"V1298 Aql". General Catalogue of Variable Stars, Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia. Retrieved 2009-05-28. <a href="http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search=V1298+Aql" target="_blank">http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search=V1298+Aql</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Van Biesbroeck's Star". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 16 October 2023. <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803115142492" target="_blank">https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803115142492</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"V* V1298 Aql". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2009-05-28. <a href="http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=V%2A+V1298+Aql" target="_blank">http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=V%2A+V1298+Aql</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>van Biesbroeck, G. (August 1944). "The star of lowest known luminosity". The Astronomical Journal. 51: 61–62. Bibcode:1944AJ.....51...61V. doi:10.1086/105801. <a href="http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/AJ.../0051//0000061.000.html?high=49ee8336c004367" target="_blank">http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/AJ.../0051//0000061.000.html?high=49ee8336c004367</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"ADVANCED MAGNITUDE CALCULATOR". www.1728.org. Retrieved 2016-04-03. <a href="http://www.1728.org/magntudj.htm" target="_blank">http://www.1728.org/magntudj.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Moon Fact Sheet". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2016-04-03. <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html" target="_blank">https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Linsky; Wood, Brian E.; Brown, Alexander; Giampapa, Mark S.; Ambruster, Carol (December 20, 1995). "Stellar Activity at the End of the Main Sequence: GHRS Observations of the M8 Ve Star VB 10". The Astrophysical Journal. 455: 670–676. Bibcode:1995ApJ...455..670L. doi:10.1086/176614. hdl:2060/19970022983. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"V* V1298 Aql". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2009-05-28. <a href="http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=V%2A+V1298+Aql" target="_blank">http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=V%2A+V1298+Aql</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"V1298 Aql". General Catalogue of Variable Stars, Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia. Retrieved 2009-05-28. <a href="http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search=V1298+Aql" target="_blank">http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/cgi-bin/search.cgi?search=V1298+Aql</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Linsky; Wood, Brian E.; Brown, Alexander; Giampapa, Mark S.; Ambruster, Carol (December 20, 1995). "Stellar Activity at the End of the Main Sequence: GHRS Observations of the M8 Ve Star VB 10". The Astrophysical Journal. 455: 670–676. Bibcode:1995ApJ...455..670L. doi:10.1086/176614. hdl:2060/19970022983. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Red Dwarf Dynamo Raises Puzzle over Interiors of Lowest Mass Stars". hubblesite. 1995-01-10. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-08-03. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100125212616/http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1995/03/text/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100125212616/http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1995/03/text/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>van Biesbroeck, G. (August 1944). "The star of lowest known luminosity". The Astronomical Journal. 51: 61–62. Bibcode:1944AJ.....51...61V. doi:10.1086/105801. <a href="http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/AJ.../0051//0000061.000.html?high=49ee8336c004367" target="_blank">http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/AJ.../0051//0000061.000.html?high=49ee8336c004367</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Pravdo, Steven H.; Shaklan, Stuart B. (June 2009). "An Ultracool Star's Candidate Planet" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 700 (1): 623–632. arXiv:0906.0544. Bibcode:2009ApJ...700..623P. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/700/1/623. S2CID 119239022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2009-05-30. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090604100620/http://steps.jpl.nasa.gov/links/docs/pravdoshaklan09vb10b.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090604100620/http://steps.jpl.nasa.gov/links/docs/pravdoshaklan09vb10b.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Planet-Hunting Method Succeeds at Last". NASA NEWS, NEWS RELEASE: 2009-090. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2009-05-28. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210415175136/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/exoplanet-20090528.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20210415175136/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/exoplanet-20090528.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Bean, Jacob L.; Seifahrt, Andreas; Hartman, Henrik; Nilsson, Hampus; Reiners, Ansgar; Dreizler, Stefan; Henry, Todd J.; Wiedemann, Günter (2010). "The Proposed Giant Planet Orbiting VB 10 Does Not Exist". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 711 (1): L19 – L23. arXiv:0912.0003. Bibcode:2010ApJ...711L..19B. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L19. S2CID 122135256. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Anglada-Escudé, Guillem; Shkolnik, Evgenya L.; Weinberger, Alycia J.; Thompson, Ian B.; et al. (2010). "Strong Constraints to the Putative Planet Candidate around VB 10 Using Doppler Spectroscopy". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 711 (1): L24 – L29. arXiv:1001.0043. Bibcode:2010ApJ...711L..24A. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L24. S2CID 119210331. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Sanderson, Katharine (2009-12-10). "Exoplanet claim bites the dust". Nature. 462 (7274): 705–705. doi:10.1038/462705a. ISSN 0028-0836. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/462705a" target="_blank">https://www.nature.com/articles/462705a</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Bean, Jacob L.; Seifahrt, Andreas; Hartman, Henrik; Nilsson, Hampus; Reiners, Ansgar; Dreizler, Stefan; Henry, Todd J.; Wiedemann, Günter (2010). "The Proposed Giant Planet Orbiting VB 10 Does Not Exist". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 711 (1): L19 – L23. arXiv:0912.0003. Bibcode:2010ApJ...711L..19B. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L19. S2CID 122135256. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Kral, Q.; Schneider, J.; Kennedy, G.; Souami, D. (2016), "Effects of disc asymmetries on astrometric measurements", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 592: A39, arXiv:1605.04908, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201628298, S2CID 119245922 <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>