Dying hot star photographed
December 3rd, 2009 - 9:59 pm ICT by IANS ( Leave a comment )
London, Dec 3 (IANS) Astronomers in Britain have taken the first pictures of one of the hottest stars in the Galaxy - a mysterious dying body that fascinates scientists.
At 200,000 degrees Celsius, the star at the heart of the Bug Nebula is 35 times hotter than the Sun.
The dying star - 3,500 light years away in the constellation Scorpius - has never been seen before as it is hidden behind a cloud of dust and ice, The Times reported.
Now, a team of astronomers at the University of Manchester, led by Professor Albert Zijlstra, have recorded images using the recently refurbished Hubble Space Telescope.
The pictures are to be published in the Astrophysical Journal next week.
Zijlstra said: “It is extremely important to understand planetary nebulae such as the Bug Nebula as they are crucial to understanding our own existence on Earth.”
Our own Sun is set to follow the star’s example in about 5 billion years’ time.
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Tags: astronomers, astrophysical journal, bug nebula, cloud of dust, constellation scorpius, dying star, earth, existence, heart, hot star, hotter than the sun, hottest stars, hubble space telescope, light years, london, planetary nebulae, scientists, star 3, stars in the galaxy, university of manchester
