MWC 137 is a supergiant star in the equatorial constellation of Orion. It has the variable star designation V1308 Ori; MWC 137 is from the Mount Wilson Catalogue published in 1933. The star is located at a distance of about 17.0 ± 4.6 thousand light-years (5.2 ± 1.4 kpc), at the center of the filamentary nebula Sh 2-266.

Properties

This is a massive B[e] star that displays radial pulsational variabilities with a dominant period of around 1.9 days. Evolutionary models show it to be near or in its post main sequence stage. The star displays a jet – a large, collaminated outflow, which suggests the presence of an accretion disk. An X-ray source detected by the SWIFT observatory may be associated with MWC 137, which suggests the presence of a neutron star companion.

MWC 137 has a stellar classification of sgB[e], where 'sg' indicates it is a supergiant-type B[e] star. The mass is uncertain, but lies in the range of 30 to 70 times the mass of the Sun. In 2021, M. Kraus and associates found a mass estimate of roughly 37 solar masses. It is radiating 690,000 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 28,200 K.

This star is located at the center of the filamentary nebula Sh 2-266, which is elliptical in shape and spans an angular size of 80′ × 56′. This has the form of a ring nebula, possibly as the result of stellar winds interacting with the interstellar medium or ejected matter. A bow-shaped feature was discovered in 2021, at a position angle of 225°–245° at an angular separation of 80″ from MWC 137. The star is directly associated with an H II region that spans an angular size of one arcminute.

Further reading

  • Kraus, Michaela; et al. (November 2017), "Resolving the Circumstellar Environment of the Galactic B[e] Supergiant Star MWC 137 from Large to Small Scales", The Astronomical Journal, 154 (5), id. 186, arXiv:, Bibcode:, doi:.
  • Alimardanova, F.; et al. (February 2017), "Spectroscopy and Photometry of MWC 137", in Miroshnichenko, Anatoly; et al. (eds.), The B[e] Phenomenon: Forty Years of Studies. Proceedings of a Conference held at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 27 June – 1 July 2016, ASP Conference Series, vol. 508, San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific, p. 355, Bibcode:.
  • Kraus, M.; et al. (February 2017), "Clumpy Molecular Structures Revolving the B[e] Supergiant MWC 137", in Miroshnichenko, Anatoly; et al. (eds.), The B[e] Phenomenon: Forty Years of Studies. Proceedings of a Conference held at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 27 June – 1 July 2016, ASP Conference Series, vol. 508, San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific, p. 381, arXiv:, Bibcode:.
  • Muratore, M. F.; et al. (January 2015), "Evidence of the Evolved Nature of the B[e] Star MWC 137", The Astronomical Journal, 149 (1), id. 13, arXiv:, Bibcode:, doi:.
  • Kondratyeva, L. N. (2007), "The Object MWC 137", Odessa Astronomical Publications, 20: 86, Bibcode:.