astronomy

HD 150136

HD 150136 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 HD 150136 rather than just read about it. In short: HD 150136 is a multiple star system in the southern constellation of Ara, around 4,300 light years away. It is the brightest member of the faint open cluster NGC 6193, part of the Ara OB1 association.

Key takeaways

HD 150136 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect HD 150136 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of HD 150136 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

HD 150136 is a multiple star system in the southern constellation of Ara, around 4,300 light years away. It is the brightest member of the faint open cluster NGC 6193, part of the Ara OB1 association.

System

HD 150136 is listed in the Washington Double Star Catalog as having seven visual components within 30 arcseconds. Component A is a close triple system containing three massive class O main sequence stars. The brightest companion is catalogued individually as HD 150135 as well as component C of the multiple system, separated by only 10 arcseconds. It is another O class spectroscopic binary and also a member of NGC 6193. The other catalogued components are all 10th to 12th magnitude, similar to many other stars known to be members of NGC 6193. The primary star consists of a double-lined spectroscopic binary with a more distant tertiary companion. The third star is orbiting the other two with a period of 8.2 years, an eccentricity of 0.73, and an inclination of 108°. The close binary stars are separated by hardly more than their own diameters and orbit in less than 3 days, but the third is separated enough to have been resolved visually by VLTI. The measured separation in 2012 was 9 milli-arcseconds, corresponding to 11-12 AU.

Properties All three (four, including HD 150135) of the brightest stars are massive luminous O class main sequence stars, 27 to 54 times as massive as the Sun. They are around 10 times the size of the Sun, but 6-8 times hotter and each is over 100,000 times as luminous. The primary star is the closest O3 star to Earth, 46,500 K, visually 18,000 times as bright as the sun, but because of its high temperature it is around three quarters of a million times more luminous including all wavelengths.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with HD 150136

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what HD 150136 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 HD 150136 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 HD 150136 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 HD 150136

In research: HD 150136 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 HD 150136 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: HD 150136 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ara (constellation), Bright Star Catalogue objects, Durchmusterung objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for HD 150136 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “HD 150136” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study HD 150136 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what HD 150136 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 HD 150136 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is HD 150136 in simple terms?

Why does HD 150136 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 HD 150136?

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 HD 150136.