Debris Disk Around Star Beta Pictoris (Hubble)

Debris Disk Around Star Beta Pictoris (Hubble)

A debris disk, which includes comets, asteroids, rocks of various sizes, and plenty of dust, orbits the star Beta Pictoris, which is blocked at the center of this 2012 image by a coronagraph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the visible-light view of the system. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will view Beta Pictoris in infrared light, both using its coronagraphs and capturing data known as spectra to allow researchers to learn significantly more about the gas and dust in the debris disk, which includes lots of smaller bodies like exocomets.

Credits

Image

NASA, ESA, Daniel Apai (University of Arizona), Glenn Schneider (University of Arizona)

About The Object
Object Name Beta Pictoris
Object Description Star with Circumstellar Disk
R.A. Position 05:47:17.08
Dec. Position -51:03:59.43
Constellation Pictor
Distance 63 light-years
About The Data
Data Description The image was created from Hubble data from the following proposals: PI: S. Heap (Eureka Scientific and NASA/GSFC) and PI: D. Apai (University of Arizona). The science team includes: D. Apai and G. Schneider (University of Arizona), C. Grady (Eureka Scientific and NASA/GSFC), M. Wyatt (University of Cambridge), A.-M. Lagrange (CNRS, Grenoble, France), M. Kuchner and C. Stark (NASA/GSFC), and S. Lubow (STScI).
Instrument STIS
Exposure Dates 6 March 2012
About The Image
Compass Image A wide horizontal blue line appears at the center, extending almost to the edges, a debris disk seen edge-on. At the center is a black dot with irregular edges. The central star is blocked by an instrument known as a coronagraph. There is a whiter area within the blue on the right side, about half way from the star and halfway from the end of the blue region. The background of space is black.
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.

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