[ESA]. In the early history of our Solar System, a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, vapourising massive amounts of rock and blasting it into space. Some […]
Vega
![[left] A Hubble Space Telescope false-color view of a 100-billion-mile-wide disk of dust around the summer star Vega. Hubble detects reflected light from dust that is the size of smoke particles largely in a halo on the periphery of the disk. The disk is very smooth, with no evidence of embedded large planets. The black spot at the center blocks out the bright glow of the hot young star. [right] The James Webb Space Telescope resolves the glow of warm dust in a disk halo, at 23 billion miles out. The outer disk (analogous to the solar system’s Kuiper Belt) extends from 7 billion miles to 15 billion miles. The inner disk extends from the inner edge of the outer disk down to close proximity to the star. There is a notable dip in surface brightness of the inner disk from approximately 3.7 to 7.2 billion miles. The black spot at the center is due to lack of data from saturation. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, S. Wolff (University of Arizona), K. Su (University of Arizona), A. Gáspár (University of Arizona) larger image](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Hubble-And-Webb-Study-The-Surprisingly.png?resize=1200%2C641&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Hubble And Webb Study The Surprisingly Smooth Disk Around Vega
In the 1997 movie “Contact,” adapted from Carl Sagan’s 1985 novel, the lead character scientist Ellie Arroway (played by actor Jodi Foster) takes a space-alien-built wormhole ride to the star […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Searching for Planets Orbiting Vega with the James Webb Space Telescope
The most prominent of the IRAS debris disk systems, α Lyrae (Vega), at a distance of 7.7 pc, has been observed by both the NIRCam and MIRI instruments on the […]