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HD 106906 Compass Image

Exoplanet HD 106906b with compass and scale
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows one possible orbit (dashed ellipse) of the 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet HD 106906 b. This remote world is widely separated from its host stars, whose brilliant light is masked here to allow the planet to be seen. The planet resides outside its system's circumstellar debris disk, which is akin to our own Kuiper Belt of small, icy bodies beyond Neptune. The disk itself is asymmetric and distorted, perhaps due to the gravitational tug of the wayward planet. Other points of light in the image are background stars.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    12:17:53.114
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -55:58:32.11
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Crux
  • 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.
    336 light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 25 arc seconds across (about 0.04 light-years or over 2500 AU)

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 HST observations include those from program 14670 (P. Kalas)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    STIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    24 Feb 2017
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    MIRVIS
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    HD 106906 and exoplanet HD 106906b
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    exoplanet orbiting binary star system
  • Release Date
    December 10, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Pins Down Weird Exoplanet with Far-Flung Orbit
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, M. Nguyen (University of California, Berkeley), R. De Rosa (European Southern Observatory), and P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley and SETI Institute)

Downloads

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Exoplanet HD 106906b with compass and scale
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the STIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a blue hue to the monochromatic (grayscale) image.

Related Images & Videos

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b

The 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD 106906 b, shown in this artist's illustration, occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away. It may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our solar system...

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b's Orbit

Artist's Illustration of Exoplanet HD 106906 b's Orbit

This graphic shows how the exoplanet HD 106906 b may have evolved over time, arriving at its current, widely separated, eccentric and highly misaligned orbit. (1) The planet formed much closer to its stars, inside a circumstellar disk of gas and dust. Drag from the disk caused...

Exoplanet HD 106906

HD 106906

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the environment around double star HD 106906. The brilliant light from these stars is masked here to allow fainter features in the system to be seen. The stars' circumstellar disk is asymmetric and distorted, perhaps due to the...

Simulation of HD 106906 b's Orbit

Simulation of HD 106906 b's Orbit

This video shows the possible orbit of exoplanet HD 106906 b. The light from the twin stars has been masked to block their bright glare, allowing the Hubble Space Telescope to see the circumstellar disk and exoplanet. The planet resides outside its system's circumstellar debris...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 11, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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