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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Шер 25: ожидающаяся сверхновая? http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1163776/eng |
Credit & Copyright: W. Brandner
(UIUC),
E.K. Grebel
(U. Wuerzburg), et al.,
ESO,
1.54-m Telescope,
Chile
Explanation:
No supernova
has ever been predicted - yet. These
dramatic stellar explosions
that destroy stars, that create and disperse the elements
that compose
people and
planets, that
light up the night sky,
are not so well understood that astronomers can accurately
predict when a star will explode - yet. Perhaps Sher 25 will be the first. Sher 25, designated by the arrow, is a blue
supergiant
star located just outside the
open star cluster and
ionized
region named NGC 3603. Sher 25 lies in the center of an
hourglass shaped nebula much like the
one that surrounds the last bright supernova visible from Earth:
SN1987a. Now the hourglass shaped rings around
SN1987a
were emitted before that blue supergiant
exploded.
Maybe Sher 25 has expelled these bipolar rings in a step that closely precedes a
supernova.
Maybe not. If so, Sher 25 may be within a few thousand years of its spectacular finale.
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.