Central Star of Nebula NGC 2440: One of Hottest Known Stars

Stsci_1992-12a_1024

stsci_1992-12a April 1st, 1992

Credit: S. Heap, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

This photograph from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope presents the first clear view of one of the hottest known stars, the central star of nebula NGC 2440 in our Milky Way galaxy. The superhot star, called "the NGC 2440 nucleus" is the bright white dot in the center of this photograph. In previous photographs made with telescopes on the ground, blurring due to the atmosphere acted to smear together the light from the star with the glow of the surrounding nebula. By clearly separating the starlight from the nebular glow, astronomers have been able to make the most accurate estimate yet for the star temperature: a torrid 200,000 degrees Celsius (or 360,000 degree Fahrenheit) or more. The picture was obtained with Hubble's Planetary Camera by scientists led by astrophysicist Dr. Sally Heap of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. It has been sharpened by computer image restoration. The brightness of the star compared to that of the surrounding nebula implies that the star, at a minimum of 200,000 K, is one of the hottest stars on record. "The Hubble photo also reveals intricate structure in the nebula that was not discernible in photos made from the ground," according to Dr. Heap. The nebula NGC 2440 was once described as "so complex it defies description," (a statement attributed to the late University of California astronomer Dr. Rudolph Minkowski) and this is the first time that its internal structures, consisting of filaments and oppositely directed blobs and streamers, have been shown in such great detail.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/1992/news-1992-12

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://hubblesite.org/copyright/

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 2440
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Spectral Type > O

Distance

Universescale1
4,000 light years
Stsci_1992-12a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 7h 41m 56.1s
DEC = -18° 12’ 1.2”
Orientation
North is 164.8° CW
Field of View
0.7 x 0.7 arcminutes
Constellation
Puppis

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (WFPC) -
Stsci_1992-12a_1280
×
ID
1992-12a
Subject Category
B.3.3.1  
Subject Name
NGC 2440
Credits
S. Heap, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Release Date
1992-04-01T00:00:00
Lightyears
4,000
Redshift
4,000
Reference Url
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/1992/news-1992-12
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Light years
Facility
Hubble
Instrument
WFPC
Color Assignment
Red
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
115.48354952226, -18.20033599362
Reference Dimension
2473.00, 2376.00
Reference Pixel
3477.71899355638, 1096.38508338332
Scale
-0.00000500196, 0.00000500196
Rotation
-164.82518152349
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.2 revision 218+ by the Chandra X-ray Center FITS X FITS Y EPO X EPO Y 250.85 270.44 2220.62 1601.08 214.08 332.57 1727.98 1377.16 168.12 426.70 1109.91 817.83 285.69 397.58 1929.10 696.48 245.79 347.72 1920.46 1261.34 214.73 155.06 2219.72 2059.38 130.01 307.45 1211.69 1568.86 160.95 466.31 1003.21 633.49 Center Pixel Coordinates: 1236.50 161.81922551791 1188.00 64.51837000847
Creator (Curator)
STScI
URL
http://hubblesite.org
Name
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email
outreach@stsci.edu
Telephone
410-338-4444
Address
3700 San Martin Drive
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
USA
Rights
http://hubblesite.org/copyright/
Publisher
STScI
Publisher ID
stsci
Resource ID
STSCI-H-p9212a-f-2473x2376.tif
Resource URL
https://mast.stsci.edu/api/latest/Download/file?uri=mast:OPO/product/STSCI-H-p9212a-f-2473x2376.tif
Related Resources
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1992/12
Metadata Date
2023-05-11T00:00
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
4,000 light years

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