CH Cyg: A binary star system about 800 light years from Earth.
Caption: The inset box in this graphic contains a composite image of X-ray data from Chandra (red), optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (green), and radio data from the Very Large Array (blue), while the large image shows an optical view of CH Cyg (Digitized Sky Survey). CH Cyg is a so-called symbiotic system in which a white dwarf feeds from the wind of a red giant star. The material from the wind forms a hot accretion disk around the white dwarf before crashing onto the star. CH Cyg is one of only a few hundred symbiotic systems known, and one of the closest to the Earth.
Scale: Image is
6 arcsec across (0.02 light years across); Wide field is 12 arcmin across (3 light years across);
Chandra X-ray Observatory
ACIS Image
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