Video: NASA Time Lapse Shows Explosion Of Star 20,000 Light Years Away

Every now and then something comes along which just makes you think “isn’t that incredible?”. NASA’s recently disclosed video that is a time-lapse of an exploding star made me feel exactly like that. The video, shown below, offers a time lapse of what the exploding V838 Monocerotis star looks like. The red star is located some 20,000 light years away and it was captured over a 4 year period of observation from NASA’s Hubble Telescope.

Behind the amazing visuals is a story of scientific fascination too. The origins and reasons for the explosion of the star are unknown. Initially it was believed to be an exploding nova but more recently that has been discredited.

“The outburst may represent a transitory stage in a star’s evolution that is rarely seen,” says the Hubble website. “The star has some similarities to highly unstable aging stars called eruptive variables, which suddenly and unpredictably increase in brightness.”

Image courtesy of NASA