LRLL 54361

Artist's impression of the young binary star system

LRLL 54361 aka L54361 is thought to be a binary protostar producing strobe-like flashes, located in the constellation Perseus in the star-forming region IC 348 and 950 light-years away.

This newly discovered object may offer insight into a star's early stages of formation, when large masses of gas and dust are falling into a newly forming binary star - called a pulsed accretion model. This object emits a burst of light at regular intervals of 25.34 days, possibly caused by repeated close approaches between the two component stars which are gravitationally linked in an eccentric orbit - the flashes may be the result of large amounts of matter falling into the growing protostars. Since the stars are obscured by the dense disk and envelope of dust surrounding them, direct observation is difficult. This process of star birth has been witnessed in its later stages, but has to date not been seen in such a young system, nor with such intensity and regularity. These new stars are thought to be only a few hundred thousand years old.

LRLL 54361 was first detected by the Spitzer Space Telescope as a variable object inside the star-forming region IC 348. The Hubble Space Telescope confirmed the Spitzer observations and revealed the detailed structure around the protostar. Hubble images show two large, clear-swept regions in the disk around the stars. The monitoring of LRLL 54361 continues using other instruments, including the Herschel Space Telescope, and astronomers hope to obtain more direct measurements of the binary star and its orbit.^[1]

Hubble image of LRLL 54361 and its surroundings.

References

↑ Hubble News Release

Coordinates: 03^h 43^m 51^s, +32° 02′ 48″

Stars of Perseus

Bayer	α (Mirfak) β (Algol) γ δ ε ζ η (Miram) θ ι κ (Misam) λ μ ν ξ (Menkib) ο (Atik) π (Gorgonea Secunda) ρ (Gorgonea Tertia) σ τ φ ψ ω (Gorgonea Quarta) b

Flamsteed	1 2 3 4 5 7 (χ) 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 20 21 24 29 30 31 32 34 36 40 42 43 48 49 50 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 1 Aur

Variable	S T U V X Z RS RT RV RW RY ST SU SV TZ UV UX UY VX XX XY XZ YZ AB AG AR AS AW AX BM DM DY FO GK IK IP IQ IU IW IX IZ KP KS KT KW LX V351 V356 V357 V361 V376 V380 V386 V396 V400 V423 V432 V440 V459 V461 V471 V472 V473 V480 V490 V492 V493 V505 V509 V520 (61 And) V521 V545 V551 V572 V573 V575 V576 V621 V718

HR	470 526 529 538 540 621 641 787 792 810 820 831 842 846 849 864 865 876 885 886 890 894 918 920 923 930 949 950 956 964 966 969 973 975 979 986 991 1001 1019 1034 1037 1041 1047 1051 1056 1059 1074 1097 1113 1127 1130 1133 1141 1160 1164 1176 1191 1197 1198 1207 1215 1226 1234 1286 1301 1330 1333 1337 1344 1371 1390 1419 1424 1482 1489 1493 1500 1514

HD	13519 14433 14434 16691 16760 17092 17245 17605 21684 22781 23301 23596 25329 26702 29587

Gliese	GJ 1068

Other	BD+31 643 BD+48 740 G 38-29 G 95-57 GD 61 GRO J0422+32 HAT-P-15 HAT-P-29 IRAS 04296+3429 L1448-IRS2E LkHα 101 LRLL 54361 NGC 1333 13 NGC 1333 IRAS 2A NGC 1333 IRAS 4A NGC 1333 IRAS 4B NSV 1436 PSR B0355+54 PSR J0357+3205

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