Labelled overview of the Hyades star cluster (ground-based image)
This image shows the region around the Hyades star cluster, the nearest open cluster to us. The Hyades cluster is very well-studied due to its location, but previous searches for planets have produced only one. A new study led by Jay Farihi of the University of Cambridge, UK, has now found the atmospheres of two burnt-out stars in this cluster — known as white dwarfs — to be “polluted” by rocky debris circling the star.
Inset, the locations of these white dwarf stars are indicated — stars known as WD 0421+162, and WD 0431+126.
Credit:NASA, ESA, STScI, and Z. Levay (STScI)
About the Image
| Id: | heic1309b |
| Type: | Collage |
| Release date: | 9 May 2013, 16:00 |
| Related releases: | heic1309 |
| Size: | 6334 x 4937 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Hyades, WD0421+162, WD0431+126 |
| Type: | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : White Dwarf Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Open Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk : Debris |
| Distance: | 150 light years |
| Category: | Star Clusters Stars |
