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Hubble 47 Tucanae in UV with White Dwarfs Marked

A detailed view of a globular cluster overlaid with light green circles, which mark the locations of white dwarf stars.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    00h 24m 5.35s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -72° 4' 53.17"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Tucana
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    16,700 light-years (5,100 parsecs)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The UV image of 47 Tuc was created from Hubble data from proposal 12971: H. Richer (University of British Columbia), A. Dotter (Australian National University), R. Goldsbury (University of British Columbia), B. Hansen (UCLA), J. Heyl (University of British Columbia), J. Kalirai (STScI/JHU), K. Woodley (University of British Columbia), and K. Sigurdson (University of California, Santa Cruz). The science team includes: J. Heyl and H. Richer (University of British Columbia), E. Antolini (Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy), R. Goldsbury (University of British Columbia), J. Kalirai (STScI/JHU), J. Parada (University of British Columbia), and P.-E. Tremblay (STScI).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>WFC3/UVIS
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F225W (UV) and F336W (U)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    47 Tuc, 47 Tucanae, NGC 104
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Globular Cluster
  • Release Date
    May 14, 2015
  • Science Release
    Hubble Catches a Stellar Exodus in Action
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and H. Richer and J. Heyl (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada); Acknowledgment: J. Mack (STScI) and G. Piotto (University of Padova, Italy)

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A detailed view of a globular cluster overlaid with light green circles, which mark the locations of white dwarf stars.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument. Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F225W (UV) Yellow: F336W (U)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

White Dwarfs Migrating from Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae's Core

White Dwarfs Migrating from Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae's Core

The heart of the giant globular star cluster 47 Tucanae in the Hubble Space Telescope image at left reveals the glow of 200,000 stars. The green box outlines the cluster's crowded core, where Hubble spied a parade of young white dwarfs starting their slow-paced 40-million-year...

A detailed view of a globular cluster.

Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

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Hubble 47 Tucanae – Visible+UV (crop)

A detailed view of a globular cluster overlaid with light green circles, which mark the locations of white dwarf stars.

Hubble 47 Tucanae – UV with White Dwarfs Marked (crop)

Side-by-side comparison of 47 Tucanae as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope with compass arrows, scale bar, color keys, and graphic overlays. The image on the left is titled “47 Tuc, NGC 104, Hubble Space Telescope, Visible.” The image on the right is titled “47 Tuc, NGC 104, Hubble Space Telescope, Ultraviolet.”

Compass and Scale Image of 47 Tucanae

A detailed view of a globular cluster.

Hubble 47 Tucanae – UV (full)

White Dwarf Migration in Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (with title)

White Dwarf Migration in Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (with title)

This diagram shows how white dwarfs, the burned-out relics of stars, are distributed in the ancient globular star cluster 47 Tucanae. The youngest white dwarfs are the hottest and bluest stars dwelling mostly in the cluster's core, where the most massive stars reside. Shortly...

White Dwarf Migration in Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

White Dwarf Migration in Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

This diagram shows how white dwarfs, the burned-out relics of stars, are distributed in the ancient globular star cluster 47 Tucanae. The youngest white dwarfs are the hottest and bluest stars dwelling mostly in the cluster's core, where the most massive stars reside. Shortly...

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Details

Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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