Planetary system Epsilon Eridani.
Image details
Contributor:
Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
B77E8KFile size:
49.5 MB (962.7 KB Compressed download)Releases:
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5698 x 3039 px | 48.2 x 25.7 cm | 19 x 10.1 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
27 October 2008Photographer:
Stocktrek ImagesMore information:
This artist's conception shows the closest known planetary system to our own, called Epsilon Eridani. Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show that the system hosts two asteroid belts, in addition to previously identified candidate planets and an outer comet ring. Epsilon Eridani is located about 10 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. The system's inner asteroid belt appears as the yellowish ring around the star, while the outer asteroid belt is in the foreground. The outermost comet ring is too far out to be seen in this view, but comets originating from it are shown in the upper right corner. The inner belt orbits at a distance of about 3 astronomical units from its star, or about the same position as the asteroid belt in our own solar system (an astronomical unit is the distance between Earth and our sun). The second asteroid belt lies at about 20 astronomical units from the star, or a position comparable to Uranus in our solar system. The outer comet ring orbits from 35 to 90 astronomical units from the star; our solar system's analogous Kuiper Belt extends from about 30 to 50 astronomical units from the sun.