Dying Star Tells All
December 13th 2010 11:50
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Hubble telescope view of Mira note the slight tail in the Ultra- violet image
Mira, is perhaps the brightest long-period red variable star we can see with the naked eye.
In October Mira had an unusually bright maximum peaking at magnitude 3.0 Mira’s sudden brightness gave observer on earth a good show. Nothing out of ordinary to the casual observer it looks just another typical star, expect this star is a variable star. I touched on variable stars in a pervious blog.
variable stars link to a pervious blog
Mira has been studied by Astronomers for the past 400 years. Astronomers knew they were watching a dying star.
Only recently astronomers found that Mira was leaving a trail of debris as it travels the cosmos.
An ultraviolet sensitive satellite found the Mira was leaving vast quantities of material in it’s wake.
The material is rich in carbon and oxygen and other important elements needed to form new planetary solar systems perhaps even life.
What were now seeing is what happened some 30-thousand years in the past. Perhaps by looking at the past we may a glimpse into our future.
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Every star we see is in essence a time machine.