Vega Hubble Compass Image
About This Image
Caption
A Hubble Space Telescope false-color view of a 100-billion-mile-wide disk of dust around the summer star Vega. Hubble detects reflected light from dust that is the size of smoke particles largely in a halo on the periphery of the disk. The disk is very smooth, with no evidence of embedded large planets. The black spot at the center blocks out the bright glow of the hot young star.
About The Object
- Object Name
- Vega
- Object Description
- Dusty debris disk
- R.A. Position
- 18:36:56.34
- Dec. Position
- +38:47:01.28
- Constellation
- Lyra
- Distance
- 25 light-years
About The Data
- Data Description
- The Hubble observations include those from program 16666 (S. Wolff).
- Instrument
- STIS
- Exposure Dates
- April 2022 - February 2023
- Filters
- 50CORON
About The Image
- Color Info
- The image is an exposure acquired by the STIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a blue hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.
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.
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
- Color Info
- A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
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