The disc around IRAS 13481-6124

Astronomers have been able to obtain the first image of a dusty disc closely encircling a massive baby star, providing direct evidence that massive stars do form in the same way as their smaller brethren —and closing an enduring debate.In order to discover and understand the properties of this disc, the astronomers employed ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). By combining the light from three of the VLTI’s 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes with the AMBER instrument, this facility allows astronomers to see details equivalent to those a telescope with a mirror of 85 metres in diameter would see. The resulting resolution is about 2.4 milliarcseconds, which is equivalent to picking out the head of a screw on the International Space Station.

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ESO/S. Kraus

Om bilden

ID:eso1029b
Typ:Observation
Publiceringsdatum:14 juli 2010 19:00
Relaterade pressmeddelanden:eso1029
Storlek:800 x 800 px

Om objektet

Namn:IRAS 13481-6124
Typ:Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk
Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Young Stellar Object
Avstånd:10000 ljusår
Kategori:Stars

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Färger och filter

BandTeleskop
InfraröttVery Large Telescope
AMBER