Stellar Family Photograph
The picture above was taken with an X-ray telescope. While it might not look like anything special, this picture of space includes every possible part of the life of stars, like a family photograph. The bright point of light at the centre of the photograph is Cygnus X-3 (“sig-nus”), an X-ray binary system. It includes a middle aged star and the remains of a star that died. To the left of the picture is a cloud of cosmic gas and dust where brand new stars are forming.
Credit:
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/M.McCollough et al, Radio: ASIAA/SAO/SMA
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