A Star is Born

[Stupendous Man <richmond@stupendous.cis.rit.edu>]

  This doesn't have anything to do with TASS, but, what the
heck, it's a slow news day.

  Amateur astronomers have discovered a "new" star in the act
of being born!  Well, it's not really new, but it has just
appeared in the visible portion of the spectrum in the past
few years; the wind from the young star must be blowing its
shroud of dust and gas outwards, making it thin enough for
us to see the star.  Or maybe the star has just increased in
luminosity.  Either way, it's fascinating.

  The "new" star is located near M78, a gaseous nebula
visible in the winter sky.  You can find a discussion of the 
beast on VSNET bulletin boards.  I've put together a few pictures
showing its sudden appearance at

     http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys440/lectures/new_star/new_star.html

  I just thought people might be interested in this 
event.  It's only the second or third star of this class
to have "turned on" in the past few decades.  Interested readers
can look up FU Orionis and company at the ADS site.

  Have fun!

                                    Michael Richmond