This is really quite beautiful....
and sciencey!
YT: The unusual variable star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) continues to puzzle astronomers. This previously inconspicuous star underwent an outburst early in 2002, during which it temporarily increased in brightness to become 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun. Light from this sudden eruption is illuminating the interstellar dust surrounding the star, producing the most spectacular "light echo" in the history of astronomy.
As light from the eruption propagates outward into the dust, it is scattered by the dust and travels to the Earth. The scattered light has travelled an extra distance in comparison to light that reaches Earth directly from the stellar outburst. Such a light echo is the optical analogue of the sound echo produced when an Alpine yodel is reflected from the surrounding mountainsides.
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been observing the V838 Mon light echo since 2002. Each new observation of the light echo reveals a new and unique "thin-section" through the interstellar dust around the star. This video morphs images of the light echo from the Hubble taken at multiple times between 2002 and 2006. The numerous whorls and eddies in the interstellar dust are particularly noticeable. Possibly they have been produced by the effects of magnetic fields in the space between the stars.
10 Comments
lucky760Very. Very. Awesome.
I've always wanted to see actual photography of stellar behavior. I never thought I would.
*quality
siftbotBoosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by lucky760.
lurgeeWhoa!
PaybackThat's nothing, you should see the devastation when I "out-gas".
mentalityIt's really cool that we're seeing a Light Echo, and not an actual expanding debris field from the explosion.
skinnydaddy1says...Meh, Its going to kill us all!
deathcowSecondary effects like this can actually appear to move faster than light speed.
Imagine if you had an infinitely powerful lantern just a foot across, and a opaque screen around it which exposes only half of the light. and spins once per second, creating... a rotating lighthouse effectively.
Now fly out 1 light year from that. At this distance, the rotating pattern of light and shadow is "moving" at 6.28 light years per second.
StukaFoxsays...How come it didn't go "ka-BOOM!" and shake the screen?
PaybackOh don't be silly. That's ridiculous.
It's WAY too far away to hear that.
How come it didn't go "ka-BOOM!" and shake the screen?
CaptainObviousNever cross the streams.
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