Re: A Star is Born

[Michael Koppelman <lolife@bitstream.net>]

Has anyone gotten spectra of it? What its spectral type?

On Feb 12, 2004, at 8:23 PM, Stupendous Man wrote:

>
>   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
>
>