Apep (star system)
JWST MIRI image of Apep Star System | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Norma |
| Right ascension | 16h 00m 50.5s |
| Declination | −51° 42′ 45″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 17.5 |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | WR binary |
| Spectral type | WC8+WN4-6b+OIaf |
| Apparent magnitude (J) | 10.2 |
| Apparent magnitude (K) | 6.9 |
| Astrometry | |
| Distance | 4,600+500 −1,800 pc 2,000+400 −300 pc |
| Absolute magnitude (MV) | -5.15 / -5.15 / -7.4 |
| Orbit | |
| Primary | Apep A |
| Name | Apep B |
| Period (P) | 193 ±11 yr |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.82 ±0.04 |
| Inclination (i) | 24 ±3° |
| Longitude of the node (Ω) | 164 ±15° |
| Argument of periastron (ω) (secondary) | 10 ±10° |
| Other designations | |
| WR 70-16, 2MASS J16005047-5142449 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Apep is a triple star system containing a Wolf–Rayet binary and a hot supergiant, located in the constellation of Norma. Named after the serpent deity from Egyptian mythology, the star system is surrounded by a vast complex of stellar wind and cosmic dust thrown into space by the high rotation speed of the binary's primary star and formed into a "pinwheel" shape by the secondary star's influence. Ground-based studies of the system in the 2010s concluded that the system was the best-known gamma-ray burst progenitor candidate in the Milky Way galaxy.