j6p 0 #1 Posted March 29, 2003 An eruptive star that brightened to 600,000 times its initial intensity and briefly outshone all others in the Milky Way Galaxy has astronomers amazed and puzzled over what happened. The star's light bounces off surrounding dust clouds, creating a spectacular "light echo" in a series of new images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The echo is seen to grow over time as the light races out to fresh layers of material, presumed to have been cast into space long ago by one or more eruptions of the star. The light bounces off that dust and is reflected toward Earth. That is not the strange part. The star, named V838 Monocerotis, has suddenly grown so big that if placed in the center of our solar system it would engulf Jupiter. Oddly, it isn't hot and eruptive in the manner of a supernova or nova, both of which toss off outer layers in explosive fits. Instead, V838 Mon, as astronomers call it, achieved remarkable brilliance while swelling to gargantuan size and remaining cool at its surface. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bizarro 2 #2 Posted March 29, 2003 very nice pic, Dan. just goes to show you that the government can use our tax dollars wisely from time to time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kismit 12,963 #3 Posted March 29, 2003 Thanx J6 I just set this one as My background . It's soo pretty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halo_Jones 6 #4 Posted March 29, 2003 AAAaahhhhhh Pretty Picture Thank you J6p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kira 3 #5 Posted March 29, 2003 WOW what a pic.... and so beautiful too thanks J6p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tommy 1 #6 Posted March 30, 2003 Awesome picture j6p!! Thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schadeaux 374 #7 Posted March 31, 2003 Very cool, J6. I love star pics Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neen 0 #8 Posted March 31, 2003 what a wonderful picture jp6 .It's out of this world.lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carrie Anne 0 #10 Posted January 15, 2006 An eruptive star that brightened to 600,000 times its initial intensity and briefly outshone all others in the Milky Way Galaxy has astronomers amazed and puzzled over what happened. The star's light bounces off surrounding dust clouds, creating a spectacular "light echo" in a series of new images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The echo is seen to grow over time as the light races out to fresh layers of material, presumed to have been cast into space long ago by one or more eruptions of the star. The light bounces off that dust and is reflected toward Earth. That is not the strange part. The star, named V838 Monocerotis, has suddenly grown so big that if placed in the center of our solar system it would engulf Jupiter. Oddly, it isn't hot and eruptive in the manner of a supernova or nova, both of which toss off outer layers in explosive fits. Instead, V838 Mon, as astronomers call it, achieved remarkable brilliance while swelling to gargantuan size and remaining cool at its surface. I have a bad habit of looking in photos and seeing more than what is there.... this picture reminds me of that emblem on the Mortal Combat cover for some reason. Pretty amazing photo though. (sorry for digging up such an old post, I am soooo bored) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raptor 21 #11 Posted January 15, 2006 ^Haha, I see what you mean. It would be great if we could get views like that simply from looking up at our night sky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Megalomania 1 #12 Posted January 16, 2006 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html There are tonnes of them there. SOme really pretty ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saint Macabre 0 #13 Posted January 16, 2006 very lovely Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kryso 40 #14 Posted January 16, 2006 Amazing image. Makes you feel small doesn't it, lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xyfer 0 #15 Posted January 17, 2006 ^^^ I think so too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tillghast 2 #16 Posted January 17, 2006 Awesome piccy. By the way Kryso, your new avatar and signature scare me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frogfish 8 #17 Posted January 20, 2006 Wolf-Rayet Stars are always pretty... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
