Compass and scale image of binary L dwarf Kelu-1
This pixelated image taken by the ESO/NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows the system Kelu-1. This star systems consists of two brown dwarfs and is located in the constellation of Hydra, 61 light years away. It is among the first brown dwarf dicovered, which were not part of a system containing a later-than-M-type star. The image was taken in July 31, 2005, and shows how close the two brown dwarfs are to each other with a distance of only 5.6 times the distance earth-Sun.
Observations made between 2005 and 2008 by a german team of astronomers who used data from Hubble, the Very Large Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope suggest, that the system even contains a third, so far undetected, component.
Credit:About the Image
About the Object
Name: | Kelu-1 |
Type: | Milky Way : Star : Type : Brown Dwarf Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary |
Distance: | 60 light years |
Category: | Solar System |
Colours & filters
Band | Telescope |
---|---|
Infrared Near-IR |
Hubble Space Telescope
NICMOS |