Hubble MACHO-LMC-5 2002
Astronomers have directly measured the mass of a single star; the first time such a feat has been accomplished for any solitary star other than our own Sun. The measurement has been done on a small red star located some 1,800 light-years from Earth. Knowing the masses of stars is important in understanding stellar evolution. Until now, scientists could only determine the masses of stars that are members of binary-star systems by applying Newton's laws of gravity to measurements of the stars' orbits around their center of gravity. The new measurement used Einstein's theory of relativity, combined with a large-scale program using ground-based telescopes, and the exquisite resolution of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo0424d |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 14 April 2004, 19:00 |
| Size: | 506 x 505 px |
About the Object
| Name: | MACHO-LMC-5 1994 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Star • Milky Way : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Lensing • Local Universe : Star |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
606 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optical I |
814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
