This is the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) observation of 30 Dor #016 compared with one by the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) of the similar star HDE 269810, also in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The stellar-wind features of helium, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen are identified by their chemical symbols above; the roman numerals indicate the ionization stages, i.e., the number of electrons removed plus one. ("I" would indicate the neutral atom.) The broad emission components plus blue-shifted absorption are diagnostics of the stellar winds; the absorption forms along the line of sight to the stellar disk, where the wind is approaching us at its full speed. The O V line is a unique feature of the hottest (O2-O3) stars.
The science figure is from C. Evans (Royal Observatory Edinburgh) and his runaway star research team's study, published on May 5, 2010 in the online issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and C. Evans, et al. (from The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 715, p. L74, 2010)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | 30 Dor #016 |
| Object Description | Massive Runaway Star in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| R.A. Position | 05h 37m 8.87s |
| Dec. Position | -69° 7' 20.35" |
| Constellation | Dorado |
| Distance | 170,000 light-years (52,000 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The 30 Doradus "runaway" star study is based on Hubble COS data from proposal : G. Hartig (STScI), T. Delker (Ball Aerospace), C. Keyes (STScI), D. Sahnow (Johns Hopkins University), and S. Osterman (University of Colorado, Boulder). Authors of the 30 Doradus "runaway" star science paper: C. Evans (UK Astronomy Technology Center/Royal Observatory Edinburgh), N. Walborn (STScI), P. Crowther (University of Sheffield, UK), V. Hénault-Brunet (University of Edinburgh/Royal Observatory Edinburgh), D. Massa (STScI), W. Taylor (University of Edinburgh/Royal Observatory Edinburgh), I. Howarth (University College London), H. Sana (European Southern Observatory, Santiago, Chile/University of Amsterdam), D. Lennon (STScI), and J. van Loon (Keele University, UK). |
| Instrument | HST>COS |
| Exposure Dates | July 20-25, 2009, Exposure Time: 2.8 hours |
| Filters | G130M (UV) and G160M (UV) |
| 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. |
