Alien Asteroid Belt

Spitzer_ssc2005-10b1_1024

spitzer_ssc2005-10b1 April 20th, 2005

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC)

This artist's concept illustrates what the night sky might look like from a hypothetical alien planet in a star system with an asteroid belt 25 times as massive as the one in our own solar system.NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence for such a belt around the nearby star called HD 69830, when its infrared eyes spotted dust, presumably from asteroids banging together. The telescope did not find any evidence for a planet in the system, but astronomers speculate one or more may be present.In our solar system, anybody observing the skies on a moonless night far from city lights can see the sunlight that is scattered by dust in our asteroid belt. Called zodiacal light and sometimes the "false dawn," this light appears as a dim band stretching up from the horizon when the Sun is about to rise or set. The light is faint enough that the disk of our Milky Way galaxy remains the most prominent feature in the sky.

In contrast, the zodiacal light in the HD 69830 system would be 1,000 times brighter than our own, outshining even the Milky Way.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/175-ssc2005-10b1-Alien-Asteroid-Belt

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

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Image Details

Image Type
Artwork
Object Name
HD 69830
Subject - Milky Way
Planet > Type > Terrestrial
Galaxy > Size > Giant
Sky Phenomenon > Night Sky > Zodiacal Light

Distance

Universescale1
41 light years
Spitzer_ssc2005-10b1_1280
×
ID
ssc2005-10b1
Subject Category
B.1.1.1.   B.5.2.1.   B.7.1.5.  
Subject Name
HD 69830
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC)
Release Date
2005-04-20
Lightyears
41
Redshift
41
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/175-ssc2005-10b1-Alien-Asteroid-Belt
Type
Artwork
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
ssc2005-10b1.tif
Metadata Date
2012-03-22
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
41 light years

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