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Comment:
Mira, first observed by German pastor David Fabricius (1564-1617), is a "variable" pulsating red giant star about 400 light years away in the constellation Cetus. Within a single year, it increases or decreases one hundred-fold, reaching up to 700 times the size of the Sun.It has a white dwarf for a companion star. Only recently, the Hubble Telescope documented, thatMira has a incredibly long, "gargantuan, comet-like tail," measuring some fifteen light-years (about 45 trillion miles!) L: AstroPic, entitled "Mira, the Wonderful"-- Chandra Observatory x-Ray image of Red Giant MiraA &White Dwarf companion Mira B. R: Artist's rendering of both Miras. ––Images adapted from: NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day," June 22, 2006 (AstroPics Description) Posted by: M. Karovska (Harvard-Smithsonian (CfA) & M.Weiss(CXC) | HOME gd 26jun2017 |  |  |
Dr. Gaby Divay Senior Scholar, Archives & Special Collections 208A Bldg Dafoe - University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 gd's UM HOME & UMArchives' FPG + FrL Websites Phone: (204) 832 2179 ; divay@cc.umanitoba.ca © gd 2017 |
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