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Photographer:

Vincenzo Mirabella

Location of Photo:

Ardea(RM) - Italy

Date/Time of photo:

2025-03-17 18:37 UT

Equipment:

SW newton 406mm GoTo

Description:

Sirius, the Alpha star in the Canis Major constellation, is the brightest star in the night sky and also one of the closest to our Solar System. It is actually a binary star, composed of a main star A of magnitude -1.47 and a white dwarf B of magnitude 8.44. The orbital period of the pair is about 50 years and observed from Earth, they show an angular separation that varies from 3 to 11 arc seconds. The white dwarf Sirius B has a diameter of 11,688 km and is about 10,000 times fainter than the main component A, which is why it is difficult to observe with a telescope, especially when it is at periastron (the point in the orbit where the two stars are closest).

Website:

https://telescopius.com/pictures/view/221600/deep_sky/3d-b-biela/the-sirius-binary-system/by-vincenzo-mirabella?gallery_user_id=37672&gallery_order=is_featured&gallery_order_asc=false&gallery_page=1

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