GQ Muscae
Nova in the constellation Musca
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GQ Muscae, also known as Nova Muscae 1983 is a nova in the constellation Musca, which was discovered by William Liller at 03:20 UT on 18 January 1983.[8] At the time of its discovery it was a magnitude ≈7.2 object, and it subsequently faded.[3][9]
Right ascension11h 52m 02.4285s[5]
Declination−67° 12′ 20.9911″[5]
Apparentmagnitude(V)7.2 Max.
21 Min.[6]
21 Min.[6]
A visual band light curve for GQ Muscae. The main plot shows the decline from the 1983 eruption, plotted with data from the AAVSO,[1] Whitelock et al.[2] and Liller.[3] The inset plot (adapted from Narloch et al.[4]) shows the post-eruption variability seen in 1992. | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Musca |
| Right ascension | 11h 52m 02.4285s[5] |
| Declination | −67° 12′ 20.9911″[5] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.2 Max. 21 Min.[6] |
| Characteristics | |
| Variable type | Nova[6] |
| Astrometry | |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: −5.056±0.451[5] mas/yr Dec.: 1.193±0.324[5] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 0.4702±0.2193 mas[5] |
| Distance | 2480+3780 −300[6] pc |
| Other designations | |
| AAVSO 1147-66, Nova Mus 1983, Gaia DR2 5236081560713688448[7] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
GQ Muscae is a binary star system composed of a white dwarf and small star, the donor star, that is about 10% as massive as the Sun. The two orbit each other every 1.4 hours. The white dwarf accumulates material from the donor star until a runaway nuclear thermonuclear reaction erupts, as it did in 1983.[9] GQ Muscae was the first nova from which X-rays were detected.[10]
