IK Pegasi [SEP] constellation
IK Pegasi
IK Pegasi (or HR 8210) is a binary star system in the constellation Pegasus. It is just luminous enough to be seen with the unaided eye, at a distance of about 150 light years from the Solar System.
The primary (IK Pegasi A) is an A-type main-sequence star that displays minor pulsations in luminosity. It is categorized as a Delta Scuti variable star and it has a periodic cycle of luminosity variation that repeats itself about 22.9 times per day. Its companion
The time that a star spends on the main sequence depends primarily on its mass, with the lifespan decreasing with increasing mass. Thus, for IK Pegasi B to have become a white dwarf before component A, it must once have been more massive than component A. In fact, the progenitor of IK Pegasi B is thought to have had a mass between 5 and .
As the hydrogen fuel at the core of the progenitor of IK Pegasi B was consumed, it evolved into a red giant. The inner core contracted until