V838 Monocerotis
E545074
V838 Monocerotis is a peculiar variable star best known for its spectacular 2002 outburst and subsequent expanding light echo, which produced some of the most striking astronomical images ever captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
eruptive variable star
ⓘ
luminous red nova candidate ⓘ variable star ⓘ |
| apparentMagnitudeV |
approximately 15.6 before outburst
ⓘ
approximately 6.75 at peak of 2002 outburst ⓘ |
| catalogDesignation |
Nova Monocerotis 2002
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
V838 Mon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| companion | B-type main-sequence star ⓘ |
| constellation | Monoceros NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| declination | −03° 50′ 50.6″ ⓘ |
| discoveryOfOutburst | January 2002 ⓘ |
| distanceFromEarth |
approximately 20,000 light-years
ⓘ
approximately 6 kiloparsecs ⓘ |
| dustEnvironment |
light echo traces pre-existing dust distribution
ⓘ
surrounded by complex circumstellar dust ⓘ |
| eventDate | 2002 ⓘ |
| evolutionAfterOutburst |
cooled to very late spectral type
ⓘ
enveloped by large, cool, extended atmosphere ⓘ |
| galaxy | Milky Way NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hemisphere | celestial equator region ⓘ |
| hostEnvironment | Galactic disk ⓘ |
| imageFeature | highly detailed dust structures revealed by light echo ⓘ |
| knownFor |
Hubble Space Telescope images
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
expanding light echo ⓘ spectacular 2002 outburst ⓘ |
| lightEcho |
expanding reflection of outburst light off surrounding dust
ⓘ
observed after 2002 outburst ⓘ |
| lightEchoShape | roughly spherical but structured expanding shell ⓘ |
| locatedIn | outer region of the Milky Way disk ⓘ |
| notableImageDate |
Hubble observations in 2002
ⓘ
Hubble observations in 2004 ⓘ |
| observedBy |
Hubble Space Telescope
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
ground-based observatories ⓘ |
| outburst | 2002 stellar outburst ⓘ |
| outburstAmplitude | about 9 magnitudes in V band ⓘ |
| outburstType | multi-peaked optical outburst ⓘ |
| possibleOriginOfOutburst |
luminous red nova-like event
ⓘ
stellar merger scenario ⓘ |
| researchTopic |
late stellar evolution
ⓘ
light echo physics ⓘ luminous red novae ⓘ stellar mergers ⓘ |
| rightAscension | 07h 04m 04.85s ⓘ |
| scientificImpact | challenged classical nova and supernova classifications ⓘ |
| spectralType |
B3 V companion star
ⓘ
cool supergiant-like spectrum after outburst ⓘ |
| variableStarType | peculiar variable ⓘ |
| visibility | visible with small telescopes during outburst ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.