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Compass and Scale Image of TW Hydrae Disk

Compass and Scale Image of TW Hydrae Disk

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    11h 1m 52.98s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -34° 42' 24.77"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Hydra
  • 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.
    176 light-years (54 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 10167: A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), G. Schneider (U. Arizona/Steward Observatory), M. Silverstone (U. of Alabama), C. Dumas (ESO), A. Roberge (GSFC), and J. Debes (STScI).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>NICMOS/NIC2
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    June 17, 2005
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F171M, F180M, F204M, and F222M
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    TW Hydrae
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    T-Tauri Star with Disk
  • Release Date
    June 13, 2013
  • Science Release
    Hubble Uncovers Evidence for Extrasolar Planet Under Construction
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI/AURA)

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Compass and Scale Image of TW Hydrae Disk
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image was originally black and white and measured brightness, multiplied by the distance to the stellar position squared. These brightness values were translated into a range of reddish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. The central dark spot in the release data is due to the NICMOS coronagraph, not due to a central clearing in the disk. F171M + F180M + F222M

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

TW Hydrae Protoplanetary Disk

TW Hydrae Protoplanetary Disk

This graphic shows a gap in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas whirling around the nearby red dwarf star TW Hydrae. The gap's presence is best explained as due to the effects of a growing, unseen planet that is gravitationally sweeping up material and carving out a lane in...

TW Hydrae Disk – Hubble

TW Hydrae Disk – Hubble

TW Hydrae Disk – Artist's Illustration

TW Hydrae Disk – Artist's Illustration

Comparison of TW Hydrae System and Solar System

Comparison of TW Hydrae System and Solar System

This illustration shows that the TW Hydrae protoplanetary disk is much wider than the size of our solar system. In fact, the gap in the TW Hydrae disk produced by a suspected planet resides 7.5 billion miles from the star. At this distance, the putative planet would orbit far...

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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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