On August 17, 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detected gravitational waves from a neutron star collision. Within 12 hours, observatories had identified the source of the event within the galaxy NGC 4993, shown in this Hubble Space Telescope image, and located an associated stellar flare called a kilonova. Hubble observed that flare of light fade over the course of 6 days, as shown in these observations taken on August 22, 26, and 28 (insets).
Credits
NASA and ESAAcknowledgment: A. Levan (U. Warwick), N. Tanvir (U. Leicester), and A. Fruchter and O. Fox (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | GRB170817A - NGC 4993 |
| Object Description | Binary Neutron Stars in an Elliptcal Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 13 09 48.080 |
| Dec. Position | -23 22 53.20 |
| Constellation | Hydra |
| Distance | 130 million light-years (to NGC 4993) |
| Dimensions | Image is about 1.6 arcmin across, about 60,500 light-years at the distance of NGC 4993. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data were provided by the HST proposals (A. Bellini, P.I.), (A. Levan, P.I.), (N. Tanvir, P.I.) |
| Instrument | WFC3/UVIS, WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | Main Image (April 28, and August 22, 2017), Inset Images (August 22-28, 2017) |
| Filters | WFC3/UVIS F606W, WFC3/IR F110W, F160W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using two different cameras and filters isolating the light of specific elements or of specific broad wavelength ranges. The color arises by assigning different hues (colors), to each monochromatic image. In this case, the colors are: blue WFC3/UVIS F606W, green WFC3/IR F110W, orange/red: WFC3/IR F160W. |
| 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. |
