The spectrum of γ₂ Velorum

Abstract

γ₂ Velorum, the brightest Wolf-Rayet star in the sky, is a WC object with no N in its spectrum. As it has been already announced the spectrum is a double-lined one and can be described as a WC 7 + 09. The 09 star displays absorption lines of He and H, the Balmer series being visible up to H 17. The spectroscopic period has been set by Bappu as of 78.5 days, and the results of the measurement of about 1/4 of the material at our disposal -some 200 spectra taken at the Cordoba Observatory with a dispersion of 40 Å/mm and covering the region λλ 3100-6800- seem to agree with such a period.