Artist's View of Watery Asteroid in White Dwarf Star System GD 61

Artist's View of Watery Asteroid in White Dwarf Star System GD 61

This is an artist's impression of a rocky and water-rich asteroid being torn apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf star GD 61. Similar objects in our solar system likely delivered the bulk of water on Earth and represent the building blocks of the terrestrial planets.

Credits

Artwork: NASA, ESA, M.A. Garlick (space-art.co.uk), University of Warwick, and University of Cambridge;
Science: NASA, ESA, J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), B. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), and D. Koester (University of Kiel)

About The Object
Object Name GD 61, WD 0435+410
Object Description Artist impression of White Dwarf Star System
R.A. Position 04h 38m 39s.39
Dec. Position +41° 09' 32".51
Constellation Perseus
Distance 150 light-years (50 parsecs)
About The Data
Data Description The image was created from Hubble data from proposal : B. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), D. Koester (University of Kiel), J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), and J. Girven (University of Warwick). The science team includes: J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), B. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), and D. Koester (University of Kiel).
Instrument HST > COS
Exposure Dates January 28, 2012
Filters Gratings: G130M
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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