This false-color composite image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the orbital motion of the planet Fomalhaut b. Based on these observations, astronomers calculated that the planet is in a 2,000-year-long, highly elliptical orbit. The planet will appear to cross a vast belt of debris around the star roughly 20 years from now. If the planet's orbit lies in the same plane with the belt, icy and rocky debris in the belt could crash into the planet's atmosphere and produce various phenomena. The black circle at the center of the image blocks out the light from the bright star, allowing reflected light from the belt and planet to be photographed. The Hubble images were taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph in 2010 and 2012.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Fomalhaut; Fomalhaut b |
| Object Description | Exoplanet Orbiting Fomalhaut |
| R.A. Position | 22h 57m 39.04s |
| Dec. Position | -29° 37' 20.04" |
| Constellation | Piscis Austrinus |
| Distance | 25 light-years (8 parsecs) |
| Dimensions | This image is roughly 462 astronomical units (60 arcseconds) wide. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created from HST data from proposals , , , and ; PI: P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley). The science team includes: P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif.), J. Graham (University of California, Berkeley and University of Toronto), M. Fitzgerald (UCLA), and M. Clampin (NASA/GSFC). |
| Instrument | HST>STIS/CCD |
| Exposure Dates | May 2012 |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the STIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. This image was originally black and white and recorded only overall brightness. These brightness values were translated into a range of reddish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. Red: STIS/CCD |
| Compass Image |  |
| 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. |
