IK Pegasi is a binary star system located approximately 150 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. The two stars in the system, designated IK Pegasi A and B, orbit around a common center of mass. IK Pegasi A is a main-sequence star similar to the Sun, while IK Pegasi B is a dwarf star. The system has been the subject of many astronomical studies due to the presence of a disk of material surrounding IK Pegasi A, which is thought to be a proto-planetary disk in the process of forming planets.
IK Pegasi is a binary star system in the constellation Pegasus. It is one of the few known binary star systems that exhibit this behavior, and as a result, it has been the subject of numerous studies in astrophysics. It is just luminous enough to be seen with the unaided eye, at a distance of about 154 light years from the Solar System.
It consists of two stars, one of which is a yellow giant and the other a white dwarf. The white dwarf orbits the yellow giant, and the two stars are so close together that material from the giant star is transferred to the white dwarf, causing the white dwarf to shine brightly.
The two stars in the system are both similar to our sun in terms of size and temperature, and they orbit each other closely. One of the stars, IK Pegasi A, is a known source of X-ray emissions, making it of interest to astronomers who study X-ray sources in the universe.
The primary star (IK Pegasi A) is an A-type main-sequence star with minor luminosity pulsations. It is classified as a Delta Scuti variable star, with a periodic cycle of luminosity variation that repeats itself about 22.9 times per day. Its companion (IK Pegasi B) is a massive white dwarf—a star that has evolved beyond the main sequence and is no longer generating energy through nuclear fusion. They orbit each other every 21.7 days, with an average separation of about 31 million kilometers, 19 million miles, or 0.21 astronomical units (AU). This is less than Mercury’s orbit around the Sun.
IK Pegasi B is the nearest known supernova progenitor candidate. When the primary begins to evolve into a red giant, it is expected to expand to the point where the white dwarf can accrete matter from the expanded gaseous envelope. When the white dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses (M☉), it may explode as a Type Ia supernova.
