The orbit of Theta1 Orionis C

The first VLTI image is that of the double star Theta1 Orionis C in the Orion Nebula Trapezium. From these, and several other observations, the team of astronomers, led by Stefan Kraus and Gerd Weigelt from the Max-Planck Institute in Bonn, could obtain the full orbit of the two stars in the system, and derive the total mass of the two stars (47 solar masses) and their distance from us (1350 light-years).
This montage shows a wide-view of the Orion Nebula as seen with ISAAC on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, a zoom of the Trapezium obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and the orbit derived by the astronomers, using several facilities over 11 years. The VLTI images created for this system have an extraordinary spatial resolution of about 2 milli-arcseconds.

Kredit:

ESO/S.Kraus et al., M.McCaughrean et al. (AIP)

O snímku

Id:eso0906d
Typ:Pozorování
Datum zveřejnění:18. února 2009
Související články:eso0906
Velikost:2640 x 2002 px

O objektu

Jméno:Messier 42, Theta1 Orionis C
Typ:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Milky Way : Star : Type : Variable : X-Ray Binary (Star)
Vzdálenost:1400 světelné roky
Kategorie:Nebulae

Image Formats


Pozadí

1024x768
272,3 KB
1280x1024
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1600x1200
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1920x1200
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2048x1536
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Barvy & filtry

PásmoDalekohled
Infračervený
J
Very Large Telescope
ISAAC
Infračervený
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Very Large Telescope
ISAAC
Infračervený
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Very Large Telescope
ISAAC
Hubble Space Telescope