Story: Night sky

Erupting star

Erupting star

Monoceros (the Unicorn) is a faintly visible constellation lying between Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, and Procyon, to the east of Orion. In January 2002 a distant star in Monoceros became intensely bright, and for a brief time was the brightest star in the Milky Way. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows dust clouds surrounding the star as it erupted.

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Hubble Space Telescope
Reference: NASA, ESA and H.E. Bond (STScI)

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How to cite this page:

John Field and Maggy Wassilieff, 'Night sky - Southern stars', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/7904/erupting-star (accessed 29 April 2024)

Story by John Field and Maggy Wassilieff, published 12 Jun 2006