This four-panel graphic illustrates how the binary-star system V Hydrae is launching balls of plasma into space.
Panel 1 shows the two stars orbiting each other. One of the stars is nearing the end of its life and has swelled in size, becoming a red giant.
In panel 2, the smaller star's orbit carries the star into the red giant's expanded atmosphere. As the star moves through the atmosphere, it gobbles up material from the red giant, which settles into a disk around the star.
The buildup of material reaches a tipping point and is eventually ejected as blobs of hot plasma along the star's spin axis, shown in panel 3.
This ejection process is repeated every eight years, the time it takes for the orbiting star to make another pass through the bloated red giant's envelope, shown in panel 4.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai (JPL);Artist's Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | V Hydrae, V Hya |
| Object Description | Carbon Star, Variable Star |
| R.A. Position | 10h 51m 37.2s |
| Dec. Position | -21° 15' 00" |
| Constellation | Hydra |
| Distance | 1,200 light-years (roughly 400 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data were provided through HST proposals , , , , , and : R. Sahai (JPL), C. Barnbaum (Valdosta State Univ.), G. Knapp (Princeton Univ.), M. Morris (UCLA), J. Krist (JPL), and K. Young (SAO). |
| Instrument | HST>STIS spectroscopy |
| Exposure Dates | Jan. 2002; Dec. 2002; Jan. 2004; July 2011; Jul. 2012; and Jul. 2013 (Exposure time: Several exposures, 1 - 914 seconds) |
| Filters | Gratings: G430M (419 nm), G750M (658 nm) |
| 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. |
