This ‘Shooting Star’ Is A Red Giant!

That’s right. A red giant streaking across the universe at half a million kilometers per hour! What’s making it go that fast?


Courtesy: TechRepublic

NASA scientists are ecstatic over the discovery of a tail or trail of gas and dust trailing the red giant star Mira as it speeds across the universe at 291,000 miles per hour. Mira has been studied for more than 400 years ago but the tail was only recently uncovered by using ultraviolet wavelengths.
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[edit on 4-9-2007 by mikesingh]

NASA says that picture you posted is an artist's rendition* of what's up there. I found this higher resolution UV mosaic of the tail and bow shock on Wiki:

Mira-uv-bow-shock-tail-vertical.jpg

Too big to post it here, but there's the link.

*Source: NASA

Edit: typo

[edit on 4-9-2007 by Beachcoma]

WOW, definately is very interesting. Wonder what caused it. Maybe some big event/explosion of some kind with so much force set it off somewhere.

Hmm.... Kinda adds a reference to a relative zero point in space now doesn't it. Relatively speaking, this star is a reference point in its own area of space, with a speed of '0'. Nice find Mike, as usual. I'm going to look into this some more!

edit: Then again, it is in our own galaxy.

[edit on 6-9-2007 by Quasar]

I didn't know that stars ever "streaked". How unusual is this? what sets it in motion. And more importantly, where is it heading?

Originally posted by nixie_nox
what sets it in motion. And more importantly, where is it heading?

That's the mystery! And it's moving real fast, almost the speed of neutron stars! What made it move? Tremendous forces would have been at play seeing that it's a red giant!

And where's it heading? Thankfully not towards our Solar System or it would be curtains! But are any heading this way in the near future? Your guess is as good as mine!

Cheers!

Great find mike

Hubble image:



hubblesite