This photograph is the sum of three Hubble Space Telescope images. North is down, east is to the right. The image, taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, is 8.8 arc seconds across (west to east), and 6.6 arc seconds top-to-bottom (south to north). An arc second is a unit of angular measure. There are 3,600 arc seconds in 1 degree and 360 degrees in a full circle.
All stars line up in this composite picture, except the neutron star, which moves across the image in a direction 10 degrees south of east. The three images of the neutron star are labeled by date. The proper motion is 1/3 of an arc second per year. The small wobble caused by parallax (not visible in the image) has a size of 0.016 arc seconds, giving a distance of 200 light-years.
Credits
NASA and F.M. Walter (State University of New York at Stony Brook)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | RX J185635-3754 |
| Object Description | Neutron Star |
| R.A. Position | 18h 56m 34.99s |
| Dec. Position | -37° 54' 0.0" |
| Constellation | Corona Australis |
| Distance | About 200 light-years |
| Dimensions | This image is 8.8 arcseconds (0.1 light-years) across. Diameter: 12 miles (20 km). Speed: 240,000 miles per hour (389,000 kilometers per hour). Proper Motion: 1/3 of a second of arc per year. Magnitude: V26 |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Principal Astronomers: F. Walter, J. Lattimer, M. Prakash, S. Wolk, L. Matthews, P. An (SUNY Stony Brook), R. Neuhaeuser (Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik). |
| Instrument | HST>WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | October 6, 1996, March 30, 1999, and September 16, 1999, Exposure Time: 6 hours |
| Filters | F606W (V) |
| 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. |
