[Left] - A normal star in a binary system gravitationally pulls in matter from an aging companion star that has swelled to a bloated red giant that has expanded to a few hundred times its original size.
[Right] - After a couple hundred million years, the red giant star has burned out and collapsed to the white dwarf that shines intensely in ultraviolet wavelengths. The companion star has bulked up on the hydrogen siphoned off of the red giant star to become much hotter, brighter, and bluer than it was previously.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 188 |
| Object Description | Open star cluster with blue stragglers |
| R.A. Position | 00h 47m 27.5s |
| Dec. Position | +85° 16' 10.7" |
| Constellation | Cepheus |
| Distance | 540 light-years (1,770 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | These data were obtained via the HST proposal GO:, PI: R. Mathieu (University of Wisconsin, Madison) et al. The science team comprises: N. Gosnell (University of Texas, Austin), R. Mathieu (University of Wisconsin, Madison), A. Geller (Northwestern University and University of Chicago), A. Sills (McMaster University), N. Leigh (University of Alberta and American Museum of Natural History), and C. Knigge (University of Southampton, UK). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/SBC |
| Exposure Dates | October 3 - November 23, 2012 |
| 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. |
