The binary stars DD Hya and EL Aps are two pairs of stars that orbit around each other in space. DD Hya is located in the constellation of Hydra, The Water Monster., while EL Aps is found in the southern skies. This analysis gave us a piece of certain information about the star cluster such as the Gmag, BPmag, etc, and the properties such as brightness period distance, and distribution of this star cluster in our galaxy.
DD Hya is blue-white – but not the hottest star, as our star is white DD Hya color is white. The temperature in DD Hydrae is between 7,500 – 10,000 Kelvin. DD Hya is not alone. Its changing brightness is unique but uncommon, for ELP AL Appuosae also changes in brightness and comes with an added, unique pattern of points. DD Hya is an RR Lyrae type of star, which is asymmetric with time. This change in brightness makes this star a variable star by classification because its size or brightness changes. The light curve has unique patterns of its brightness changing but the data Epoch 2455950.736 gives a tad more information on its cosmic dance and its uniqueness. Its rise/eclipse duration was 14 units, meaning how long the star’s delicate dance lasted. Its V band had no contamination which is the only way to observe in the midst of brightness fluctuation.
Since Apus or El Aps as it was called by the Persians, meaning ‘the constellation of the bird-of-paradise set in the skies’, appeared to have no feet, it was given the Greek name apus, meaning ‘without feet’. It first appeared on celestial globes and star atlases in the late 16th century. The red supergiant Alpha Apodis and other brilliant stars appear to form the body of the bird, but El Aps is notable for its brilliant double-star systems such as DI Apodis (Delta Apodis). Other splendors of Apus include its deep-sky objects such as NGC 6101, the Dahlgren, and IC 4499, or Collinder 300, the southern version of the Pleiades).Â
At the same time, the astronomical story of El Aps is the dramatic subplot of the Apus constellation, whose variable brightness ebbs and flows in a rhythmic, pulsating whisper that essayists have tried to capture with descriptors such as ‘writhing in pain’, ‘accordion’, ‘too short to sting’, or ‘flute of woven tendrils’. Viewed from Earth nested within that cosmic embrace, El Aps turns the eyes of observatories and probes skyward, asking for the benefit of precision instruments such as Gaia and the ASAS-SN Sky Patrol that track standard candle stars such as it. You don’t have to travel at a billion miles an hour to begin exploring El Aps’s astronomical history – its orbital and pulsation patterns – as it makes its way among the other stars in the southern sky with the downstairs lights on, opening up a dialogue with the deep past.Â
El Aps is the story of a star, taking place against the backdrop of the Cosmos, with a Gmag of 11.768382, placed in the southern skies in the constellation Apus, near the other stars of its species. With a period of variability of 0.5797221 days, an apparent magnitude of peak brightness of 11.52, and a minimum magnitude of 12.17, El Aps shows its brightness fluctuations, giving us the possibility to understand its star evolution through science. Measuring the size of the variations, one of the ways to classify celestial bodies can be done thanks to the extremely high-quality measurements that Gaia collects. Other satellites complement and help the scanning done by Gaia. This is the case for ASAS-SN Sky Patrol and ASA S-3 Light Curve.
We focus our telescopes on these amazing double stars of DD Hya and EL Aps as we continue to explore the universe’s binary stars. These stars are similar to the gravitational duets that have captivated astronomers ever since the creation of the telescope, a tradition that dates back to the observations of stars like Acrux and Mizar made by figures like Father Fontenay in 1685 and Giovanni Battista Riccioli in 1650. These binary stars have been shown to be more than just optical companions by John Michell’s statistical findings in 1767, which demonstrated their physical relationship in space. William Herschel’s observational work further supported this finding.
Looking back, the study and experience were incredible, and I’m glad I decided to undertake this analysis and learn more about them. Since I had never really seen a star cluster through a telescope, I learnt a great deal about the Milky Way, how star clusters change over time, and how they appear. Ultimately, this entire event opened my eyes to a whole new perspective on the universe, and I’m grateful that I learned so much from it.
Resources/References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ApusÂ
https://www.universeguide.com/star/40186/ddhydraeÂ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_starÂ
https://astronomytechnologytoday.com/2021/08/28/discovering-double-stars/Â