Life near the double-star system of Phi Persei is never dull, as this illustration shows. Taken from the perspective of one of the Hubble Space Telescope observations of Phi Persei, this artist's depiction provides a taste of the double- star system's unstable existence. The bright "Be" star - a type of hot star with a broad, flattened disk - is the white, semicircular object looming in the upper right of the illustration. The red, pancake-shaped object surrounding the star is a gas disk. The gas is material the star is losing because of its rapid rotation. The small, hot subdwarf is in the lower left of the illustration. The blasts of white light represent particles of material - called a stellar wind - being released by the star. This powerful stellar wind is heating part of the "Be" star's gas disk. The red ring of material surrounding the subdwarf was probably formed from the "Be" star's outflow of gas. The subdwarf is moving toward the right in its 126-day orbit around the "Be" star.
Credits
Illustration courtesy of: Bill Pounds| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Phi Persei |
| R.A. Position | 01h 43m 39.63s |
| Dec. Position | 50° 41' 19.43" |
| 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 |
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| 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. |
