AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula
March 11, 2011
I picked this photo since we were/ are studying nebulae. The gas and dust creates such ornate and beautiful patterns in space. This one in particular is really pretty. I like the contrast between the blue and the red. The nebula is located in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. The star embedded within the nebula is a variable O-star. This means that the star is extremely hot (around 30,000 K). The heat form the star ionizes the dust around it causing it to glow the blue hue. The gas is made up of a lot if Hydrogen which correlates with the blue color. The star, though, was probably not created in the Auriga constellation. In fact scientist think that the star was formed in the Trapezium Cluster found in Orion. They think that gravity caused this star and another, Mu Columbae, to be be ejected from the Orion nebula almost 2 millions years ago, probably the effect of a supernova explosion. Mu Columbae and the Auriga star formed a binary system, but eventually ran into another binary star system and have be spreading apart ever since. The two stars are approximately separating a speeds of 200 kilometers a second!
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