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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня μ Цефея http://www.variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1909985/eng |
Credit & Copyright: David Cruz
Explanation:
Mu Cephei
is a very large star.
An M-class supergiant some 1500 times the size of the Sun, it is one of
the largest stars visible to the unaided eye,
and even one of the largest in the entire Galaxy.
If it replaced the Sun in
our fair Solar System,
Mu Cephei would easily engulf Mars and Jupiter.
Historically known as
Herschel's Garnet Star,
Mu Cephei is extremely red.
Approximately 2800 light-years distant, the supergiant is
seen near the edge of reddish emission nebula
IC 1396 toward
the royal northern constellation Cepheus in
this telescopic view.
Much cooler and hence redder than the Sun,
this supergiant's light is further reddened by absorption and
scattering due to intervening dust within the Milky Way.
A well-studied variable star
understood to be in a late phase
of stellar evolution, Mu Cephei is a massive star too,
destined
to ultimately explode as a core-collapse
supernova.
APOD editor to speak:
in Houghton, Michigan
tonight, Thursday, October 12, at 6 pm
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.