One of the Hottest Stars in the Galaxy discovered, page 1

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Topic started on 2-12-2009 @ 04:53 PM by berenike

I have quoted the full article (which includes a video) below:

www.dailymail.co.uk...

One of the hottest stars in the galaxy has been discovered by astronomers.
The dying star at the centre of the Bug Nebula is 35 times hotter than the sun with a surface temperature of 200,000 degrees.
This is the first time the star has been pictured despite numerous attempts by stargazers across the world.

Astronomers at The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics were amazed to find they had captured the central star using the recently refurbished Hubble Space Telescope.
'This star was so hard to find because it is hidden behind a cloud of dust and ice in the middle of the nebula,' explained Professor Albert Zijlstra from The University of Manchester.
'Planetary nebulae like the Bug form when a dying star ejects much of its gas back into space and are among the most beautiful objects in the night sky.'
The Bug Nebula is about 3500 light years away in the constellation Scorpius.

The images were taken to show off the new improved HST, which space shuttle astronomers installed with a new Wide Field Camera earlier this year.
Cezary Szyszka, lead author on the paper and a research student at the University of Manchester currently working at the European Southern Observatory, said: 'We are extremely lucky that we had the opportunity to catch this star near its hottest point, from now on it will gradually cool as it dies. This is truly an exceptional object.'
Our own sun is expected to cool, and die in the same way in about five billion years time.
Professor Zijlstra added: 'It's extremely important to understand planetary nebulae such as the Bug Nebula, as they are crucial to understanding our own existence on Earth.'
The images will be published in the Astrophysical Journal next week.

Here are similar articles from The Times and Independent:

www.timesonline.co.uk...

www.independent.co.uk...

Little bit more info on the Bug Nebula:

www.spacetelescope.org...

[edit on 2-12-2009 by berenike]

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 05:04 PM by kingoftheworld

That's some wicked stuff. I am taking an Astronomy class right now, so this is very interesting to me.

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 05:12 PM by berenike

Pictures of the Bug Nebula:

[edit on 2-12-2009 by berenike]

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 05:35 PM by ReelView

Sorry the sun isn't hot and likely this guy isn't either. In fact the sun is cooler than the earth.

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 06:59 PM by STFUPPERCUTTER

so the giant ball of gas and fire and fussion and fission and gravity is cooler than the earth where parts of it are coverd in ice?
makes sense to me.

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 07:07 PM by Alxandro

Whew, based on the title of this thread I thought it was going to be something relating to American Idol.

I don't know about y'all but that picture really reminds of the painting by Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam.

Hmmmmm??

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 07:14 PM by The_Truth818

reply to post by berenike

All I can say about these pictures is WOW......
Absolutely beautiful.... The universe is crazy. S&F for you.

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 07:21 PM by DerbyCityLights

S&F for you op! that is a beautiful pic of the bug nebula! The Universe is full of wonders just waiting for us to spot them. I wish I could be alive 500 years from now just to see what we have accomplished and see the mysteries we will have solved.

ReelView, if you arn't being sarcastic, you should put the bong down.

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 08:27 PM by berenike

I didn't want to post this in case anyone felt insulted, but it's the clearest explanation I could find about the Sun's temperature:

www.kidsastronomy.com...

The surface of the Sun is much cooler than its atmosphere.

The Sun's surface is a warm 6,000 degrees Celsius. This is the same temperature as the Earth's core. However, as you travel away from the Sun's surface, the atmosphere heats up to millions of degrees. Scientists are not sure how the atmosphere can be as hot as it is, with such a cool surface.

[edit on 2-12-2009 by berenike]

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 08:33 PM by DerbyCityLights

reply to post by berenike

The only reference I could find in that link that compared temps between the Earth and the sun said the surface of the sun was 6000 degrees or the same temp as the Earths core.

reply posted on 2-12-2009 @ 08:35 PM by berenike

reply to post by DerbyCityLights

When I read Reelview's post, I thought he might mean something like that, so I googled a few sites to find info about the sun's temperature.

Perhaps I made a bad choice, but I thought go for the simplest explanation.

This is a grown up site - but there's loads of info to trawl through:

www.solarviews.com...

[edit on 2-12-2009 by berenike]

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