On April 6, 1994 NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was performing a detailed study of the Sun's nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, using the Fine Guidance Sensors to search for small deviations in the position of Proxima Centauri that could reveal the presence of an unseen planetary companion. Rather than sit idle while this study went on, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) was activated using the observing strategy set out in a program initiated by Dr. Ed Groth (Princeton University) designed to make use of this otherwise wasted time. The image captured by this WFPC2 parallel observation is a typical Milky Way star field in the constellation Centaurus. Such images can be used to study the evolution of stars that make up our galaxy.
Most of the stars in this image lie near the center of our galaxy some 25,000 light-years distant. But one object, the blue curved streak, is something much closer. An uncatalogued, mile-wide bit of rocky debris orbiting the Sun only light-minutes away strayed into WFPC2's field while the image was being exposed. This and about a hundred other interlopers have been found by Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomers Dr. Robin Evans, Dr. Karl Stapelfeldt, and collaborators, who have systematically searched the HST archive for these nearby objects. Their analysis indicates this asteroid's orbit could cross Mars' path. Seen briefly by HST, these asteroids are too small and faint to track from the ground long enough for precise orbits to be determined. They are destined to return to their unseen wanderings for hundreds or thousands of years until once again, by chance, they may flicker across the view of some watchful eye peering off into the depths of space.
Credits
The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Asteroid u2805m01t4 in Centaurus |
| Object Description | Serendipitous Asteroid Trail in Star Field |
| R.A. Position | 14h 28m 08.74m |
| Dec. Position | -62° 45' 43.20" |
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Distance | The asteroid is 87 million miles (0.93 A.U.) from Earth. It is 156 million miles (1.68 A.U.) from the Sun. |
| Dimensions | The image is 2.7 arcminutes on the vertical side. Asteroid Trail Length: 19 arc seconds. Asteroid Diameter: 1.25 miles (2 kilometers). Asteroid Magnitude: 18.7 |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Principal Astronomers: R. Evans, K. Stapelfeldt (Jet Propulsion Lab) and collaborators. |
| Instrument | HST>WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | April 6, 1994, Exposure Time: 33 minutes |
| Filters | F606W (Wide V) and F814W (I) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Blue: F606W (Wide V) Green: F814W (I) + F606W (Wide V) Red: F814W (I) |
| 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. |
