The unusual double star SS Leporis

These super-sharp images of the unusual vampire double star system SS Leporis were created from observations made with the VLT Interferometer at ESO’s Paranal Observatory using the PIONIER instrument. The system consists of a red giant star orbiting a hotter companion.

The remarkable image sharpness — 50 times sharper than those from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope — not only allows the stars to be clearly separated and their orbital motion followed, but also allowed the size of the red giant to be measured more accurately than ever before. The system consists of a red giant star orbiting a hotter companion.

Note that the stars have been artificially coloured to match their known temperatures.

Crédit:

ESO/PIONIER/IPAG

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso1148a
Type:Collage
Date de publication:7 décembre 2011 12:00
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso1148
Taille:1048 x 484 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:SS Lep
Type:Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary
Catégorie:Stars

Formats des images

Grand JPEG
34,7 Kio

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineTélescope
Infrarouge
H
Very Large Telescope Interferometer
PIONIER
Infrarouge
H
Very Large Telescope Interferometer
AMBER