Hubble image archive
Comet-Like Object Falling Toward White Dwarf (Artist's Concept)
This artist's concept shows a massive, comet-like object falling toward a white dwarf. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar system's Kuiper Belt. The findings also suggest the presence of o...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2017
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2017-09-3982-image
This artist's concept shows a massive, comet-like object falling toward a white dwarf. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar system's Kuiper Belt. The findings also suggest the presence of one or more unseen surviving planets around the white dwarf, which may have perturbed the belt to hurl icy objects into the burned-out star.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and Z. Levy (STScI)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | WD 1425+540 |
| Object Description | White Dwarf Star |
| R.A. Position | 14h 27m 36.032s |
| Dec. Position | +53º 48' 28.42" |
| Constellation | Boötes |
| Distance | About 170 light-years (52 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Datasets used for these results are from the HST proposal 13453, PI: M. Jura (UCLA), S. Xu (ESO), and B. Klein and B. Zuckerman (UCLA). |
| Instrument | HST>COS |
| Exposure Dates | December 8, 2014, Exposure time: 3hr. 41min. |
| Filters | Grating: G130M |
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov