[酷图] V838 Mon中闪烁的星光

Light Echoes from V838 Mon
Credit: H. Bond (STScI), A. Henden (USNO Flagstaff), Z. Levay (STScI), et al., ESA, NASA
Explanation: Nominated for most mysterious star in the Milky Way, V838 Monocerotis briefly became one of the brightest stars in our galaxy. Its outburst discovered in January 2002, observations have indicated that V838 Mon somehow transformed itself over a period of months from a small under-luminous star a little hotter than the Sun, to a highly-luminous, cool supergiant star -- defying the conventional understanding of erupting stars and stellar life cycles. In this spectacular image, one of a series recorded last year by the Hubble Space Telescope, the dimmed V838 Mon is surrounded by an "expanding" nebula. But the nebula is actually a series of light echoes from formerly unseen shells of dust up to light-years in diameter. Previously ejected, the intricate shells progressively reflect light as it reaches them from V838 Mon's outbursts. Astronomers anticipate that light echoes from farther out in the dust envelope will continue to be visible until about 2010. Some estimates now place V838 Mon about 20,000 light-years from planet Earth.

漂亮，真的很漂亮。

我看更像是太空艺术画！

宇宙之眼？

最初由 meteorobs 发表
[B]我看更像是太空艺术画！

它的确是照片。

不会是在地面拍的吧？

当然美国天文界这样的照片都是经过处理的。

超新星遗迹？！

Its outburst discovered in January 2002。

它在哪个星座附近？

在大麦云内。