|
The bright star HD 77581, over 6000 light years away, has an unseen binary companion, the x-ray source Vela X-1, believed to be a neutron star produced by a supernova explosion. The "kick" of this explosion is believed to have sent the pair speeding away through the interstellar medium. |
|
This photo of HD 77581 was released 14 January 1997 by the European Southern Observatory. It was taken by L. Kaper et. al. with the 1.54-m Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory. Used with permission. |
|
The star chart background was produced on a Macintosh with the Voyager II program,
and are ©1988-93 Carina Software,
830 Williams St., San Leandro, CA 94577, (510) 352-7328. Used under license.
©1996-2000 Scott
R. Anderson Last update: 2000 March 26 Please send questions, comments, suggestions, or corrections to srca@mindspring.com. The material on this website may be reused as described under the Open Course License.
|
Prior: §7
The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) is the key to one-stop, any-stop access to thousands of high quality lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources on the Internet! GEM is a project of the U.S. Department of Education. The Introduction to Astronomy Webbook is catalogued in the Gateway, and Scott R. Anderson is a member of the GEM Consortium.