Friday, January 13, 2012

APOD 2.6 Light Echos from V838 Mon

Light Echos from V838 Mon

 Pardon my frankness, but at first glance this image of the light echo expanding out from the light flash of V838 Mon looks like a danish. A cherry danish. Admittedly this echo is much more complicated, starting with the great expansion of V838 Mon in 2002, and then suddenly fading again. And in addition a stellar flash like that of V838 Mon had never been seen before so there was nothing to compare the event to for researching opportunities. All that is currently known is that this light echo, about three light-years in diameter, is light from the flash reflected in rings by the interstellar dust surrounding the star. 

No comments:

Post a Comment