Ara | Preprint: OPTICAL SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC MONITORING OF THE EXTREME LUMINOUS BLUE VARIABLE STAR GR 290 (ROMANO’S STAR) IN M 33

Preprint: OPTICAL SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC MONITORING OF THE EXTREME LUMINOUS BLUE VARIABLE STAR GR 290 (ROMANO’S STAR) IN M 33

Scritto il 28 Mag 2011 alle 10:34 in Pubblicazioni

We study the long-term, S Dor-type variability and the present hot phase of the luminous blue variable (LBV) star GR 290 (Romano’s Star) in M 33 in order to investigate possible links between the LBV and the late, nitrogen sequence Wolf–Rayet Stars (WNL) stages of very massive stars. We use intermediate-resolution spectra, obtained with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) in 2008 December, when GR 290 was at minimum (V = ∼18.6), as well as new low-resolution spectra and BVRI photometry obtained with the Loiano and Cima Ekar telescopes during 2007–2010.