images

V838 Monocerotis light echo

by

Nasa/ESA/Stsci/Novapix

Reference

a-eto20-00007

Date

2006-09-03

In January 2002, a variable star in the Monoceros constellation suddenly became 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun, temporarily making it the brightest star in our Milky Way galaxy. The mysterious star, called V838 Monocerotis, has long since faded back to obscurity. Seen here by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope from May 2002 to October 2004, the light echo around the star has uncovered details in the interstellar dust round the star.