Symbiotic Star Mira HM Sge

Symbiotic Star Mira HM Sge

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the symbiotic star Mira HM Sge. Located 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta, it consists of a red giant and a white dwarf companion. The stars are too close together to be resolved by Hubble. Material bleeds off the red giant and falls onto the dwarf, making it extremely bright. This system first flared up as a nova in 1975. The red nebulosity is evidence of the stellar wind. The nebula is about one-quarter light-year across.

Credits

Science

NASA, ESA, Ravi Sankrit (STScI), Steven Goldman (STScI)

Image Processing

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

About The Object
Object Name HM Sge
Object Description Symbiotic nova
R.A. Position 19:41:57.080
Dec. Position +16:44:39.81
Constellation Sagitta
Distance 3,400 light-years
Dimensions Image is about 30 arcsec across (about 0.45 light-years)
About The Data
Data Description The HST observations include those from program (S. Goldman). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Instrument WFC3/UVIS
Exposure Dates April 1, 2021
Filters F502N, F656N, F658N
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/UVIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample various wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue= F502N, Green= F656N, Red= F658N
Compass Image At the center of the image is a bright white star with four prominent diffraction spikes. The star is surrounded by red clumps. A more translucent, red finger-shaped cloud of vertical material begins at the star's upper right, and goes a bit above it. Hubble Space The black background of space is sprinkled with tiny red and white stars.
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
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
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.

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