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Oldest Star in Solar Neighborhood
This is a Digitized Sky Survey image of the oldest star with a well-determined age in our galaxy. The aging star, cataloged as HD 140283, lies 190.1 light-years away. Hubble Space Telescope was used to narrow the measurement uncertainty on the star's distance, and this helped refine the calculation of a more precise age of 14.5 billion years (plus or minus 800 million years).
The star is rapidly passing through our local stellar neighborhood. The star's orbit carries it through the plane of our galaxy from the galactic halo that has a population of ancient stars. The Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) UK Schmidt telescope photographed the star in blue light.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.15h 43m 3.1s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-10° 56' 0.6"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Libra
- DistanceDistanceThe 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.190.1 light-years (58.3 parsecs)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData 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 Hubble data were taken from HST proposals 9883, 10110, and 10480: PI: D. VandenBerg (University of Victoria), H. Bond (STScI and Pennsylvania State University), and E. Nelan (STScI). The science team comprises: H. Bond (STScI and Pennsylvania State University), E. Nelan (STScI), D. VandenBerg (University of Victoria), G. Schaefer (CHARA, Mt. Wilson Observatory), and D. Harmer (NOAO). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.DSS: Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.HD 140283
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Oldest Star in Solar Neighborhood
- Release DateMarch 7, 2013
- Science ReleaseHubble Finds Birth Certificate of Oldest Known Star
- Credit
Related Images & Videos
Artist's View of Ancient Star
This is an illustration of the oldest star ever found in our solar neighborhood. The aging star, cataloged as HD 140283, lies 190.1 light-years from Earth. Hubble Space Telescope observations narrowed the measurement uncertainty on the star's distance, and this helped refine the...
Artist's View of Ancient Star (Annotated)
This is an illustration of the oldest star ever found in our solar neighborhood. The aging star, cataloged as HD 140283, lies 190.1 light-years from Earth. Hubble Space Telescope observations narrowed the measurement uncertainty on the star's distance, and this helped refine the...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
