The absorption spectrum of the Be star MWC 300.
Abstract
Highly resolved CASPEC spectra with a high S/N-ratio of the peculiar emission-line B-star MWC 300, which is surrounded by a circumstellar dust shell have been analyzed. The aim of this paper is to discuss the photospheric spectrum of MWC 300. By comparing the absorption spectrum of MWC 300 with the ones of early B supergiants a close resemblance was found with the B1 hypergiant HD 169454. Luminosity sensitive fluorescence lines of Fe III 115 and 117 were found both in MWC 300 and in the most luminous stars of the sample, confirming the hypergiant nature of MWC 300. An absolute visual magnitude M v of about -8 was estimated for MWC 300, which places it at a distance of z = 560 pc from the galactic plane. It is conjectured that MWC 300 is a runaway hypergiant, released via a supernova explosion in a very massive binary star system.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- July 1985
- Bibcode:
- 1985A&A...148..412W
- Keywords:
-
- Absorption Spectra;
- B Stars;
- Stellar Spectra;
- Binary Stars;
- Forbidden Transitions;
- Iron;
- Line Spectra;
- Stellar Luminosity;
- Supernovae;
- Astrophysics