Principled Man Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 This festive NASA Hubble Space Telescope image resembles a holiday wreath made of sparkling lights. The bright southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the image, is swaddled in a gossamer cocoon of reflective dust illuminated by the glittering star. The super star is ten times more massive than the Sun and 200 times larger. RS Puppis rhythmically brightens and dims over a six-week cycle. It is one of the most luminous in the class of so-called Cepheid variable stars. Its average intrinsic brightness is 15,000 times greater than the Sun's luminosity. The nebula flickers in brightness as pulses of light from the Cepheid propagate outwards. Hubble took a series of photos of light flashes rippling across the nebula in a phenomenon known as a "light echo." Even though light travels through space fast enough to span the gap between Earth and the Moon in a little over a second, the nebula is so large that reflected light can actually be photographed traversing the nebula. By observing the fluctuation of light in RS Puppis itself, as well as recording the faint reflections of light pulses moving across the nebula, astronomers are able to measure these light echoes and pin down a very accurate distance. The distance to RS Puppis has been narrowed down to 6,500 light-years. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Permanent-Rush Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 What an amazing sight!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 This festive NASA Hubble Space Telescope image resembles a holiday wreath made of sparkling lights. The bright southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the image, is swaddled in a gossamer cocoon of reflective dust illuminated by the glittering star. The super star is ten times more massive than the Sun and 200 times larger. RS Puppis rhythmically brightens and dims over a six-week cycle. It is one of the most luminous in the class of so-called Cepheid variable stars. Its average intrinsic brightness is 15,000 times greater than the Sun's luminosity. The nebula flickers in brightness as pulses of light from the Cepheid propagate outwards. Hubble took a series of photos of light flashes rippling across the nebula in a phenomenon known as a "light echo." Even though light travels through space fast enough to span the gap between Earth and the Moon in a little over a second, the nebula is so large that reflected light can actually be photographed traversing the nebula. By observing the fluctuation of light in RS Puppis itself, as well as recording the faint reflections of light pulses moving across the nebula, astronomers are able to measure these light echoes and pin down a very accurate distance. The distance to RS Puppis has been narrowed down to 6,500 light-years. Very cool! Thank you! :ebert: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Oh, wow....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Oh gorgeous!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Beautiful and fascinating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Beautiful and fascinating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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