Holy crap, space is awesome. What’s even more awesome is the fact that we’re able to photograph it with such clarity.
V838 Monocerotis, a rather inconspicuous star overall, underwent a stellar explosion at the beginning of 2002. During its explosion, it was 600,000 times more luminous than our own sun. In the history of astronomy, there has never been a more spectacular “light echo” than from the death of this celestial body.
Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope has been observing V838 Mon and its ligh echo since it exploded in 2002, and now, scientists have pieced together an incredible time lapse video of the star’s light echo, which gas and interstellar dust shooting outward from the epicenter.
It truly is fortunate that we live in a time when we can study the stars and the universe around us with such depth, and that average folks like you and me are able to take it all in so easily.
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