images

Sirius A and Sirius B in Canis Major

by

Nasa/ESA/Stsci/Novapix

Reference

a-eto01-00013

Date

2006-09-02

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Sirius, the brightest star in our nighttime sky, along with its faint, tiny stellar companion, Sirius B. Astronomers overexposed the image of Sirius (at center) so that the dim Sirius B (tiny dot at lower left) could be seen. The cross-shaped diffraction spikes and concentric rings around Sirius, and the small ring around Sirius B, are artifacts produced within the telescope's imaging system. Sirius B is a white dwarf that orbits around Sirius every 50 years. Sirius, only 8.6 light-years from Earth, is the fifth closest star system known. Exposure Dates: October 2003 February 2004 Exposure Time: 11.2 min 15.8 min