AB Aurigae b Illustration

Stsci_2022-016a_1024

stsci_2022-016a April 4th, 2022

Credit: NASA, ESA and Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

This is an artist’s impression of a massive, newly forming exoplanet called AB Aurigae b. Researchers used new and archival data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Subaru Telescope to confirm this protoplanet is forming through an intense and violent process, called disk instability. Disk instability is a top-down approach, much different from the dominant core accretion model. In this scenario, a massive disk around a star cools, and gravity causes the disk to rapidly break up into one or more planet-mass fragments. AB Aurigae b is estimated to be about nine times more massive than Jupiter and orbits its host star over two times farther than Pluto is from our Sun.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-016

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

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

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Artwork
Object Name
AB Aurigae
Subject - Milky Way
Planet
Star > Circumstellar Material > Planetary System

Distance Details Distance

Universescale1
520 light years

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 4h 55m 45.8s
DEC = 30° 33’ 4.3”
Constellation
Auriga
Stsci_2022-016a_1280
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ID
2022-016a
Subject Category
B.1   B.3.7.1  
Subject Name
AB Aurigae
Credits
NASA, ESA and Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
Release Date
2022-04-04T11:00:00
Lightyears
520
Redshift
520
Reference Url
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-016
Type
Artwork
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance in lightyears
Facility
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
73.94102454, 30.55119222
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
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-p22016a-f-3840x2160.tif
Metadata Date
2022-07-07T08:48:52-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
520 light years

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