These coronagraphic images of a disk around the star AU Microscopii, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), show compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
The scale bar is labeled in astronomical units, or A.U., which is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. The field of view shown in this image is approximately 100 A.U. across.
This image shows invisible near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, CSA, Kellen Lawson (NASA-GSFC), Joshua E. Schlieder (NASA-GSFC)
Image Processing
Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | AU Mic, AU Micrscopii |
| Object Description | Debris Disk Around Nearby Star |
| R.A. Position | 20:45:9.49 |
| Dec. Position | -31:20:26.99 |
| Constellation | Microscopium |
| Distance | 32 light-years (9.79 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (J. Schlieder). |
| Instrument | NIRCam |
| Exposure Dates | 03 Oct 2022 |
| Filters | F356W, F444W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | The images are separate exposures acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a cyan and red hue to monochromatic (grayscale) images. |
| 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 |
|
| 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. |
