List of stars with resolved images
Appearance
The following is a list of stars with resolved images, that is, stars whose images have been resolved beyond a point source.[clarification needed] Aside from the Sun, observed from Earth, stars are exceedingly small in apparent size, requiring the use of special high-resolution equipment and techniques to image. For example, Betelgeuse, the first star other than the Sun to be directly imaged, has an angular diameter of only 50 milliarcseconds (mas).[1]
List
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Star | Image | Diameter | Distance (ly) |
First imager | Year | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Angular (mas) | Geometric (Sun = 1) | ||||||
Sun | ![]() |
2000000 | 1 | 0.0000158 | Louis Fizeau and Léon Foucault[2] | 1845 | |
Altair α Aql |
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3.2 | 1.66±0.01 (polar) 2.02±0.01 (equator) |
16.77±0.08 | CHARA array – MIRC[3] | 2006 | |
Rasalhague α Oph A |
1.62±0.03 | 2.39±0.01 (polar) 2.87±0.02 (equator) |
48.6±0.8 | CHARA array – MIRC[4] | 2006 | ||
Alderamin α Cep |
1.35±0.02 (polar) 1.75±0.03 (equator) |
2.20±0.04 (polar) 2.74±0.04 (equator) |
48.8±0.36 | CHARA array – MIRC[4] | 2006 | ||
Caph β Cas |
1.70±0.04 | 3.1±0.1 (polar) 3.8±0.1 (equator) |
54.7±0.3 | CHARA array – MIRC[5] | 2007 | ||
Regulus α Leo Aa |
1.24±0.02 | 3.2±0.1 (polar) 4.2±0.1 (equator) |
79.3±0.7 | CHARA array – MIRC[5] | 2008 | ||
Algol β Per Aa1 |
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0.88±0.05 | 4.13 | 93±2 | CHARA array – MIRC[6] | 2006 | stationary object in the animation |
β Per Aa2 | 1.12±0.07 | 3 | orbiting object in the animation | ||||
β Per Ab | 0.56±0.10 | 0.9 | Observed radius of Algol Ab is an instrumental artifact, caused by bandwidth smearing. Actual radius is 1.73 ± 0.33 R☉. | ||||
Alkaid η UMa |
0.834±0.060 | 2.86±0.21 | 103.9±0.8 | CHARA array[7] | 2012 | ||
Markab α Peg |
1.052±0.066 | 4.62±0.29 | 133±1 | CHARA array[7] | 2012 | ||
Elnath β Tau |
1.09±0.076 | 4.82±0.34 | 134±2 | CHARA array[7] | 2012 | ||
ζ And Aa | 2.502±0.008 | 15.0±0.8 (polar) | 189±3 | CFHT[8][9] | 1996 | First direct imaging of starspots on a star outside the Solar System. | |
R Dor | ![]() |
57±5 | 370±50 | 204±9 | New Technology Telescope[10] | 1993 | 2nd largest known star by apparent diameter in Earth's sky, after the Sun. |
Mira ο Cet A |
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50 | up to 700 | 420 | Hubble – FOC[11] | 1997[citation needed] | |
T Lep | ![]() |
5.8 15 for molecular layer |
100 | 500 | Very Large Telescope – VLTI[12]/AMBER[13] | 2009[citation needed] | |
π1 Gru | ![]() |
18.37[citation needed] | 694 | 530 | Very Large Telescope – VLTI/PIONIER[14] | 2017[citation needed] | First directly observed granulation patterns on a star's surface outside the Solar System. |
Antares α Sco A |
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41.3±0.1 | 700 | 620 | Very Large Telescope – VLTI/AMBER[15] | 2017[citation needed] | |
Betelgeuse α Ori |
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50 | 630 | 643±146 | Hubble – GHRS[1] | 1995 | First star with a resolved image outside the Solar System. |
Sheliak β Lyr Aa |
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0.46 | 6 | 960±50 | CHARA array – MIRC[16] | 2007 | Both Aa1 and Aa2 are visible in the animation. |
θ1 Ori C | ![]() |
0.2 | 10.6±1.5 | 1400 | Very Large Telescope – AMBER[17] | 2009 | In the image, the right inset is θ1 Ori C and the left inset is θ1 Ori F. |
θ1 Ori F | Very Large Telescope – VLTI/GRAVITY[18] | 2016[citation needed] | |||||
Almaaz ε Aur A |
2.27 | 3.7±0.7 | ca. 2000 | CHARA array – MIRC[19] | 2009 | Supergiant with an eclipsing companion surrounded by a massive, opaque debris disk | |
RW Cephei | ![]() |
2.45 | 900–1760 | 11000+4600 −2600–22000+5200 −3300 |
CHARA array – MIRC-X and MYSTIC[20] | 2022 | Hypergiant star currently undergoing a great dimming event |
HR 5171 Aa | ![]() |
4.1±0.8 | 1575±400 | 11740±1630 | Very Large Telescope – VLTI/PIONIER[21] | 2014 | Eclipsing and potential contact binary yellow hypergiant |
See also
- Doppler imaging which produces maps of the surfaces of stars
- Zeeman–Doppler imaging which maps the magnetic fields of stars
- List of directly imaged exoplanets
- Angular resolution
- Angular diameter
- List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs
References
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- ^ "NASA – Sun–Earth Day – Technology Through Time". NASA. 2006. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ J.D. Monnier; et al. (2007). "Imaging the Surface of Altair". Science. 317 (5836): 342–5. arXiv:0706.0867. Bibcode:2007Sci...317..342M. doi:10.1126/science.1143205. PMID 17540860. S2CID 4615273.
- ^ a b M. Zhao; et al. (2009). "Imaging And Modeling Rapidly Rotating Stars: Alpha Cephei And Alpha Ophiuchi". The Astrophysical Journal. 701 (1): 209–224. arXiv:0906.2241. Bibcode:2009ApJ...701..209Z. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/701/1/209. S2CID 554145.
- ^ a b X. Che; et al. (2011). "Colder And Hotter: Interferometric Imaging Of Beta Cassiopeiae And ?lpha Leonis". The Astrophysical Journal. 732 (2): 68. arXiv:1105.0740. Bibcode:2011ApJ...732...68C. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/732/2/68. S2CID 14330106.
- ^ Baron, F.; Monnier, J.; Pedretti, E.; Zhao, M.; Schaefer, G.; Parks, R.; Che, X.; Thureau, N.; ten Brummelaar, T. A.; McAlister, H. A.; Ridgway, S. T.; Farrington, C.; Sturmann, J.; Sturmann, L.; Turner, N. (2012). "Imaging the Algol Triple System in the H Band with the CHARA Interferometer". The Astrophysical Journal. 752 (1): 20. arXiv:1205.0754. Bibcode:2012ApJ...752...20B. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/752/1/20. S2CID 11110989.
- ^ a b c Gordon, Kathryn D.; Gies, Douglas R.; Schaefer, Gail H.; Huber, Daniel; Ireland, Michael (7 March 2019). "Angular Sizes, Radii, and Effective Temperatures of B-type Stars from Optical Interferometry with the CHARA Array". The Astrophysical Journal. 873 (1): 91. Bibcode:2019ApJ...873...91G. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab04b2. eISSN 1538-4357. S2CID 125181833.
- ^ Kővári, Zs.; Bartus, J.; Strassmeier, K. G.; Oláh, K.; Weber, M.; Rice, J. B.; Washuettl, A. (2007). "Doppler imaging of stellar surface structure. XXIII. The ellipsoidal K giant binary ζ Andromedae". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 463 (3): 1071. arXiv:1301.0445. Bibcode:2007A&A...463.1071K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065982.
- ^ Roettenbacher, R.M.; Monnier, J.D.; Korhonen, H.; Aarnio, A.N.; Baron, F.; Che, X.; Harmon, R.O.; Kővári, Zs.; Kraus, S.; Schaefer, G.H.; Torres, G.; Zhao, M.; Ten Brummelaar, T.A.; Sturmann, J.; Sturmann, L. (2016). "No Sun-like dynamo on the active star ζ Andromedae from starspot asymmetry". Nature. 533 (7602): 217–220. arXiv:1709.10107. Bibcode:2016Natur.533..217R. doi:10.1038/nature17444. PMID 27144357. S2CID 4466687.
- ^ "The Biggest Star in the Sky". ESO. March 11, 1997. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "Hubble Separates Stars in the Mira Binary System". HubbleSite. 6 August 1997. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Hundred metre virtual telescope captures unique detailed colour image". European Southern Observatory. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ J.-B. Le Bouquin, S. Lacour, S. Renard, E. Thiébaut, A. Merand, T. Verhoelst, Pre-maximum spectro-imaging of the Mira star T Leporis with AMBER/VLTI, Astronomy and Astrophysics Volume 496, Number 1, March II 2009, L1–L4.
- ^ "Giant Bubbles on Red Giant Star's Surface". European Southern Observatory. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Astronomers Capture Best-Ever Image of Alien Star". Scientific American. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ M. Zhao; et al. (2008). "First Resolved Images Of The Eclipsing And Interacting Binary Beta Lyrae". The Astrophysical Journal. 684 (2): L95–L98. arXiv:0808.0932. Bibcode:2008ApJ...684L..95Z. doi:10.1086/592146. S2CID 17510817.
- ^ "The orbit of Theta1 Orionis C". European Southern Observatory. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "First Light For Future Black Hole Probe". European Southern Observatory. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ B. Kloppenborg; et al. (2010). "Infrared images of the transiting disk in the Epsilon Aurigae system". Nature. 464 (7290): 370–2. arXiv:1004.2464. Bibcode:2010Natur.464..870K. doi:10.1038/nature08968. PMID 20376144. S2CID 18866716.
- ^ Anugu, Narsireddy; Baron, Fabien; Gies, Douglas R.; Lanthermann, Cyprien; Schaefer, Gail H.; Shepard, Katherine A.; ten Brummelaar, Theo; Monnier, John D.; Kraus, Stefan; Le Bouquin, Jean-Baptiste; Davies, Claire L.; Ennis, Jacob; Gardner, Tyler; Labdon, Aaron; Roettenbacher, Rachael M.; Setterholm, Benjamin R.; Vollmann, Wolfgang; Sigismondi, Constantino (July 2023). "The Great Dimming of the hypergiant star RW Cephei: CHARA Array images and spectral analysis". The Astronomical Journal. 166 (2): 78. arXiv:2307.04926. Bibcode:2023AJ....166...78A. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ace59d. S2CID 259766495.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Wittkowski, M; Abellan, F. J; Arroyo-Torres, B; Chiavassa, A; Guirado, J. C; Marcaide, J. M; Alberdi, A; De Wit, W. J; Hofmann, K.-H; Meilland, A; Millour, F; Mohamed, S; Sanchez-Bermudez, J (28 September 2017). "Multi-epoch VLTI-PIONIER imaging of the supergiant V766 Cen: Image of the close companion in front of the primary". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 1709: L1. arXiv:1709.09430. Bibcode:2017A&A...606L...1W. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201731569. S2CID 54740936.