AB Doradus moving group
Encyclopedia
AB Doradus Moving Group is a group of about 30 associated stars that are moving through space together with the star AB Doradus
. A moving group is distinguished by its members having about the same age, composition (or metallicity
) and motion through space. Hence they most likely formed in the same location.
This group is located about 20 parsec
s from the Earth
and is the closest known co-moving group. It has estimated age of either 50 million or 119 million years. The average space velocity
of this group has components of U = −8, V = −27 and W = −14 km/s. About 10 of these stars form a nuclear group within a volume roughly 10 parsec
s
across.
The proximity of this moving group makes it useful for studies of shared stellar properties, as well as detection of companions through direct imaging. These can be used for refinement of young stellar models, for example.
AB Doradus
AB Doradus is a pre-main sequence trinary star system in the constellation Dorado. The primary is a flare star that shows periodic increases in activity....
. A moving group is distinguished by its members having about the same age, composition (or metallicity
Metallicity
In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium...
) and motion through space. Hence they most likely formed in the same location.
This group is located about 20 parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and is the closest known co-moving group. It has estimated age of either 50 million or 119 million years. The average space velocity
Stellar kinematics
Stellar kinematics is the study of the movement of stars without needing to understand how they acquired their motion. This differs from stellar dynamics, which takes into account gravitational effects...
of this group has components of U = −8, V = −27 and W = −14 km/s. About 10 of these stars form a nuclear group within a volume roughly 10 parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s
across.
The proximity of this moving group makes it useful for studies of shared stellar properties, as well as detection of companions through direct imaging. These can be used for refinement of young stellar models, for example.