The triple stellar system Alpha Centauri (ESO 1-m Schmidt Telescope)

The location of the Alpha Centauri triple stellar system in the sky. The brighter stars (Alpha Centauri A and B) are strongly overexposed, with the outlying member, Proxima lying approx. 2.2° to the south-west (arrow). Smaller areas around the stars are shown in the inserts to the right. The photo has been reproduced from a blue-sensitive photographic plate obtained by the ESO 1-m Schmidt Telescope, a wide-angle telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile that is now decommissioned.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso0307a
Type:Collage
Release date:15 March 2003
Related releases:eso0307
Size:3878 x 2592 px

About the Object

Name:Alpha Centauri
Type:Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Triple
Distance:4 light years
Category:Stars

Image Formats

Large JPEG
3.9 MB
Screensize JPEG
367.8 KB

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Optical
B
ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope