ASTRONOMERS USE HUBBLE TO 'WEIGH' DOG STAR'S COMPANION (STScI-PR05-36)

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 AM EST DECEMBER 13, 2005

Dwayne Brown/Erica Hupp
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1726/1237)

Donna Weaver
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
(Phone: 410/338-4493)

Lars Lindberg Christensen
ESA/Hubble, Garching, Germany
(Phone: +49-89-3200-6306)

Lori Stiles
University of Arizona
(Phone: 520/626-4402)

Julia Maddock
Particle Physics & Astronomy Research Council
(Phone: 011/44-17-9344-2094)

PRESS RELEASE NO.: STScI-PR05-36

ASTRONOMERS USE HUBBLE TO 'WEIGH' DOG STAR'S COMPANION

For astronomers, it's always been a source of frustration that the
nearest white-dwarf star is buried in the glow of the brightest star in
the nighttime sky. This burned-out stellar remnant is a faint companion
of the brilliant blue-white Dog Star, Sirius, located in the winter
constellation Canis Major. Now, an international team of astronomers has
used the keen eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to isolate the light
from the white dwarf, called Sirius B. The new results allow them to
measure precisely the white dwarf's mass based on how its intense
gravitational field alters the wavelengths of light emitted by the star.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Sirius, the brightest star in
our nighttime sky, along with its faint, tiny stellar companion, Sirius
B. Astronomers overexposed the image of Sirius [at center] so that the
dim Sirius B [tiny dot at lower left] could be seen. The cross-shaped
diffraction spikes and concentric rings around Sirius, and the small
ring around Sirius B, are artifacts produced within the telescope's
imaging system. Sirius B is a white dwarf that orbits around Sirius
every 50 years. Sirius, only 8.6 light-years from Earth, is the fifth
closest star system known.

For images and the full story, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2005/36
http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic0516.html
http://uanews.org/spots/12072.html
www.pparc.ac.uk/Nw/sirius.asp
http://www.nasa.gov/home

For additional information, contact:
Martin Barstow, University of Leicester, Department of Physics and
Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom, (phone)
011-44-116-252-3492, (e-mail) mab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx  or

Howard Bond, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive,
Baltimore, Md., (phone) 410-338-4718, (e-mail) bond@xxxxxxxxx  or

Jay Holberg, Lunar Planetary Lab, West, Gould-Simpson Building, Rm. 901,
Tucson, Ariz. 85721, (phone) 520-621-4571, (e-mail)
holberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and the European Space Agency. The Space Telescope Science
Institute in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. The Institute
is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in
Astronomy, Inc., Washington.

To receive STScI Inbox Astronomy: News Alert messages, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/go/alerts or send an e-mail to
public-request@xxxxxxxxxx Leave the subject line blank, and type the
word SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. The system will respond with
instructions on how to confirm your subscription. Once you follow the
instructions, you will receive news alerts as they are issued. Alerts
will be sent to the e-mail address you use to subscribe. To unsubscribe,
send e-mail to public-request@xxxxxxxxxx Leave the subject line blank,
and type the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. Please
unsubscribe using the email account that you used to subscribe to the
list.



.

Relevant Pages

  • A NEW TWIST ON AN OLD NEBULA (STScI-PR04-32)
    ... Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD ... astronomers cannot see their three-dimensional structure. ... Nebula, for example, resembles a doughnut in colorful images. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • A NEW TWIST ON AN OLD NEBULA (STScI-PR04-32)
    ... Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD ... astronomers cannot see their three-dimensional structure. ... Nebula, for example, resembles a doughnut in colorful images. ...
    (sci.astro)
  • Hubble and Einstein Weigh Nearest White Dwarf Star
    ... Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to get the most ... The white dwarf star, Sirius B, is a companion to Sirius A, the ... The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • HUBBLES INFRARED EYES HOME IN ON SUSPECTED EXTRASOLAR PLANET (STScI-PR05-03)
    ... Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD ... HUBBLE’S INFRARED EYES HOME IN ON SUSPECTED EXTRASOLAR PLANET ... Unique follow up observations carried out with NASA's Hubble Space ... Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • HUBBLES INFRARED EYES HOME IN ON SUSPECTED EXTRASOLAR PLANET (STScI-PR05-03)
    ... Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD ... HUBBLE’S INFRARED EYES HOME IN ON SUSPECTED EXTRASOLAR PLANET ... Unique follow up observations carried out with NASA's Hubble Space ... Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope ...
    (sci.astro)
Quantcast