This artist's concept shows a massive, comet-like object falling toward a white dwarf. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar system's Kuiper Belt. The findings also suggest the presence of one or more unseen surviving planets around the white dwarf, which may have perturbed the belt to hurl icy objects into the burned-out star.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and Z. Levy (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | WD 1425+540 |
| Object Description | White Dwarf Star |
| R.A. Position | 14h 27m 36.032s |
| Dec. Position | +53º 48' 28.42" |
| Constellation | Boötes |
| Distance | About 170 light-years (52 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Datasets used for these results are from the HST proposal 13453, PI: M. Jura (UCLA), S. Xu (ESO), and B. Klein and B. Zuckerman (UCLA). |
| Instrument | HST>COS |
| Exposure Dates | December 8, 2014, Exposure time: 3hr. 41min. |
| Filters | Grating: 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 |
|
| 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. |
