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Artist’s View of Watery Asteroid in White Dwarf Star System GD 61

Artist's View of Watery Asteroid in White Dwarf Star System GD 61
This is an artist's impression of a rocky and water-rich asteroid being torn apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf star GD 61. Similar objects in our solar system likely delivered the bulk of water on Earth and represent the building blocks of the terrestrial planets.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    04h 38m 39s.39
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +41° 09' 32".51
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Perseus
  • 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.
    150 light-years (50 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 image was created from Hubble data from proposal 12474: B. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), D. Koester (University of Kiel), J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), and J. Girven (University of Warwick). The science team includes: J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), B. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), and D. Koester (University of Kiel).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST > COS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    January 28, 2012
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    Gratings: G130M
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    GD 61, WD 0435+410
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Artist impression of White Dwarf Star System
  • Release Date
    October 10, 2013
  • Science Release
    Water-rich Planetary Building Blocks Found Around White Dwarf
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Artwork: NASA, ESA, M.A. Garlick (space-art.co.uk), University of Warwick, and University of Cambridge; Science: NASA, ESA, J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), B. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), and D. Koester (University of Kiel)

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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