astronomy

Gliese 752

Gliese 752 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gliese 752 rather than just read about it. In short: Gliese 752 is a binary star system in the Aquila constellation. This system is relatively nearby, at a distance of 19.3 light-years (5.9 parsecs).

Key takeaways

Gliese 752 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gliese 752 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gliese 752 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gliese 752 is a binary star system in the Aquila constellation. This system is relatively nearby, at a distance of 19.3 light-years (5.9 parsecs). The Gliese 752 system consists of two M-type stars. The primary star is the magnitude 9 Gliese (GJ) 752 A. The secondary star is the dim magnitude 17 Gliese (GJ) 752 B, more commonly referred to as VB 10. This stellar pair form a binary star system separated by about 74 arc seconds (~434 AU). This system is also known for its high proper motion of about 1 arc second a year. Component A has one known exoplanet. The system is unusually close (3.85 light years) to the bright star Altair, which, when seen from the system would have an apparent magnitude of around −2.43, as bright as Jupiter is from earth. The name and number are from the Catalogue of Nearby Stars, published by German astronomer Wilhelm Gliese in 1969.

Gliese 752 A characteristics

The primary star, also known as Wolf 1055, is a type M2.5 red dwarf with about half the size and mass as the Sun and considerably cooler at 3,534±51 K. This star was first observed to be a high proper motion star by the German astronomer Max Wolf with his pioneering use of astrophotography. He added this star to his extensive catalog of such stars in 1919. It is a variable star with the variable star catalog name V1428 Aquilae. It is a BY Draconis type variable star subject to flare events.

Planetary system In August 2018, a group of scientists using measurements taken from the CARMENES spectrograph, on the Calar Alto Observatory located in Spain, announced they had detected a planet orbiting the larger of the stars, HD 180617 (Gliese 752 A). The measurements indicated the presence of a planet with a minimum mass comparable to Neptune on an orbit partly located within the habitable zone.

Gliese 752 B characteristics

Gliese 752 was not known to be a binary star system until the discovery of a small dim secondary star by George Van Biesbroeck in 1944. This star is identified as VB 10 in Van Biesbroeck's star catalog. This star is notable for its very low mass. At .08 solar masses, it is near the lower mass limit for a star. It is also quite small at 10% of the solar radius. A type M8V red dwarf, the star is known for its very low luminosity (one of the least luminous stars yet observed) with an absolute magnitude of nearly 19, due to its very cool surface temperature of only 2600K. It is a variable star with the variable star catalog name V1298 Aquilae. This star is a UV Ceti type variable star also subject to flare events. It shares the large proper motion, along with the tendency to flare, with the primary star. In 2009, the discovery of the extrasolar planet, VB 10b, was announced in orbit around this star. However a subsequent spectrographic survey failed to confirm the presence of any large planets in orbit around this star.

Magnetic field In 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope observed a solar flare on Gliese 752 B. This suggests that the star has a strong magnetic field, which came as a surprise to astronomers. It had previously been assumed that low mass red dwarfs would have insignificant or nonexistent magnetic fields. These tiny dwarfs are supposed to lack the radiative zone just outside the star's core that creates the magnetic field-creating dynamos in more massive stars like the Sun. Nevertheless, the detection of solar flares indicates that as yet unknown process allows low mass stars to produce sufficient magnetic fields to power such outbursts, even if solely by convection, without a radiative core.

See also Binary star List of least massive stars

Notes

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gliese 752

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gliese 752 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gliese 752 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gliese 752 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gliese 752

In research: Gliese 752 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gliese 752 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gliese 752 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aquila (constellation), BY Draconis variables, Binary stars, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gliese 752 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gliese 752 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gliese 752 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gliese 752 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gliese 752 in simple terms?

Gliese 752 is a binary star system in the Aquila constellation. This system is relatively nearby, at a distance of 19.3 light-years (5.9 parsecs).

Why does Gliese 752 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gliese 752?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gliese 752.