VX Sagittarii

VX Sagittarii

A visual band light curve for VX Sagittarii, plotted from AAVSO data
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Sagittarius
Right ascension 18h 08m 04.04831s
Declination −22° 13 26.6327
Apparent magnitude (V) 6.5 - 14.0
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage AGB
Spectral type M4eIa - M10eIa
Apparent magnitude (U) 11.72
Apparent magnitude (B) 9.41
Apparent magnitude (V) 6.52
Apparent magnitude (I) 2.11
Apparent magnitude (J) 1.23
Apparent magnitude (H) 0.13
Apparent magnitude (K) −0.50
Apparent magnitude (L) −1.61
Variable type SRc
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)+6.47±3.37 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: +0.36±0.76 mas/yr
Dec.: −2.92±0.78 mas/yr
Parallax (π)0.64±0.04 mas
Distance5,100 ± 300 ly
(1,560 ± 100 pc)
Details
Mass10 to 12 M
Radius1,360+250
−230
, between 1,120 and 1,550, 1,350–1,940 (pulsation), 1,480 R
Luminosity195,000±62,000 L
Temperature2,900 (near min), 3,200-3,400 (near max), 2,400–3,300 K
Other designations
VX Sgr, HIP 88838, BD−22°4575, CD−22°12589, HD 165674, 2MASS J18080404-2213266, AAVSO 1802-22
Database references
SIMBADdata

VX Sagittarii is an asymptotic giant branch star located more than 1.5 kiloparsec away from the Sun in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is a pulsating variable star with an unusually large magnitude range. It is one of the largest stars discovered, with a radius varying between 1,350 and 1,940 solar radii (940,000,000 and 1.35×109 km; 6.3 and 9.0 au). It is the most luminous known AGB star, at bolometric magnitude −8.6, which is brighter than the theoretical limit at −8.0.