images

Variable star Mira Ceti

by

Nasa/Novapix

Reference

a-eto20-00101

Date

2007-08-21

Hubble's visible-light image of the disk of Mira reveals it has an odd, asymmetrical shape resembling a football. This may be tied to dramatic changes occurring during its expansion-contraction cycles, or to the presence of unresolved spots on its surface. Hubble measurements show the red giant star is 700 times larger than our Sun.