R Aquarii as seen in 1997
This image shows a chaotic and fascinating binary star system named R Aquarii, as seen in 1997 by the Nordic Optical Telescope on the island of La Palma, Spain. In the 15 years since this image was taken the system has been observed many more times by other telescopes, including ESO’s Very Large Telescope, and has been seen to be expanding and evolving in shape.
An image from 2012 can be seen here.
Credit:T. Liimets et al./ESO
About the Image
| Id: | potw1850b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 10 December 2018, 06:00 |
| Size: | 1873 x 1166 px |
About the Object
| Name: | R Aquarii |
| Type: | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary |
| Distance: | 1000 light years |
| Constellation: | Aquarius |
| Category: | Stars |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 23 43 49.60 |
| Position (Dec): | -15° 17' 11.67" |
| Field of view: | 5.99 x 3.73 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 0.1° left of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical OII | 372 nm | Nordic Optical Telescope ALFOSC |