Tag Archive for 'Stein 2051A' | Sci.News

This illustration reveals how the gravitation of the white dwarf Stein 2051B warps space and bends the light of a distant star behind it. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured images of Stein 2051B as it passed in front of the background star. During the close alignment, Stein 2051B deflected the starlight, which appeared offset by about 2 milli-arcseconds from its actual position. From this measurement, astronomers calculated that the white dwarf’s mass is roughly 68% of the Sun’s mass. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Field, STScI.

Hubble Measures Deflection of Star’s Light by Foreground White Dwarf

Jun 7, 2017 by News Staff

The first observation of displacement of a star due to bending of its light by another celestial body other than our Sun is revealed in new research. This...