Light Echo Around Star V838 Monocerotis
by Science Source
Title
Light Echo Around Star V838 Monocerotis
Artist
Science Source
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
The light echo around the star V838 Monocerotis as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in November 2005. 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.
Uploaded
July 7th, 2014
Embed
Share
Comments
There are no comments for Light Echo Around Star V838 Monocerotis. Click here to post the first comment.