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Nebula V838 Mon is a glowing cloud of gas and dust surrounding a nova-like variable star some 20,000 light years away toward the constellation Monoceros. The nebula is illuminated by the red eruptive variable star near the center of the image. The star "erupted" or "flashed" in 2002. Light from this erupted has been reflected from the surrounding cloud of gas and dust toward Earth, thereby producing an example of a "light echo." This image of V838 Mon was obtained in February 2004 using the Hubble Space Telescope with the Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Image and text copyright © Astrographics. All rights reserved. Image courtesy of Space Telescope Science Institute. |
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