More Images of TWA 5B
1
Illustration Comparing Actual Sizes
The approximate size of brown dwarf TWA 5B (center) compared to Jupiter (right) and the Sun (left). Although brown dwarfs are similar in size to Jupiter, they are much more dense and produce their own light whereas Jupiter shines with reflected light from the Sun. TWA 5B is estimated to be between 15 and 40 times the mass of Jupiter, making it one of the least massive brown dwarfs known.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)
2
VLT Optical Image of TWA 5A & 5B
This optical image of the brown dwarf TWA 5B was taken by the 8.2-m VLT/KUEYEN telescope on February 21, 2000 and is approximately 6 arcsec across. The bright lines spreading out from the large white source were caused by optical reflection in the telescope.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/Neuhauser et al.)
3
Chandra X-ray Image of TWA 5A & 5B
A Chandra observation revealed X-rays produced by TWA 5B (faint upper source), a brown dwarf orbiting a young binary star system known as TWA 5A (bright lower source). The star system is 180 light years from the Earth and a member of a group of about a dozen young stars in the constellation Hydra. The brown dwarf orbits the binary star system at a distance about 2.75 times that of Pluto's orbit around the Sun.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/Chuo U./Y.Tsuboi et al.)
4
Chandra X-ray Image with Scale Bar
Scale bar = 1.5 arcsec
Credit: NASA/CXC/Chuo U./Y.Tsuboi et al.
Return to TWA 5B (14 Apr 03)