{"id":63852,"date":"2024-09-17T13:42:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/be5e1aa8-d963-4139-814a-16e6d39bca67"},"modified":"2024-09-17T14:39:42","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T14:39:42","slug":"mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Mira is a pulsating star that could go supernova any time soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at 13:42 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Mira is a red giant star located in the neck of Cetus that varies in brightness, pulsating on a 332-day cycle.<\/p>

When dimmest, a telescope is required to see it, but when brightest, it makes a noticeable contribution to its constellation.<\/p>

Cetus is also home to triple star Kaffaljidhma (Gamma Ceti)<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Star Mira in Cetus. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Although its period is predictably regular, its brightness range isn\u2019t.<\/p>
When dimmest, Mira may appear anywhere between mag. +8.1 and +10.1. The maxima can vary too, ranging from mag. +4.9 to +2.0.<\/p>
$\"Chart$
Although its brightness range varies widely, Mira\u2019s pulses on a regular 332-day cycle. Click to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**Discovery<\/strong><\/h2>**Following a spectacular supernova<\/a> spotted in Cassiopeia<\/a> by Tycho Brahe in 1572, German astronomer David Fabricius declared he had found a new star in Cetus during August 1596.<\/p>
Fabricius\u2019s new star was much dimmer and unlike the supernova, returned to view after fading.<\/p>
Years later, Johannes Holwarda determined the star\u2019s 11-month period, subsequently becoming known as the discoverer of Mira\u2019s true variability.\u00a0<\/p>
Johannes Hevelius named the star Mira in 1662. It means \u2018wonderful\u2019 or \u2018amazing\u2019.<\/p>
Mira was one of the first regular variable stars identified and now lends its name to a whole class of them: the Mira-type variables.<\/p>
$\"Chart$
Chart showing the constellations Cetus and Capricornus. Click to expand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Mira facts<\/strong><\/h2>
Mira lies at a distance of 300 lightyears and is catalogued as Omicron (\u03bf) Ceti.<\/p>
It’s comprised of a red giant primary with a white dwarf<\/a> companion orbiting at a close 70 AU.<\/p>
NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory has seen matter being transferred from the red giant to the secondary.<\/p>
$\"Chandra$
Chandra X-ray Observatory image showing showing Mira A (right), a red giant star and Mira B (left), a white dwarf. (Credit: NASA\/CXC\/SAO\/M. Karovska et al.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
If the white dwarf re-ignites due to this transfer, it could cause a Type Ia supernova, the same type as that spotted by Tycho Brahe in 1572.\u00a0<\/p>
Ultraviolet observations, meanwhile, have\u00a0 revealed a 13-lightyear tail spreading behind the star \u2013 believed to be caused by stellar wind interacting with the interstellar medium.<\/p>
***If you’ve observed or imaged star Mira, let us know by emailing*** ***contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>***
***This article first appeared in the January 2018 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Pete Lawrence Published: Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at 13:42 PM Mira is a red giant star located in the neck of Cetus that varies in brightness, pulsating on a 332-day cycle. When dimmest, a telescope is required to see it, but when brightest, it makes a noticeable contribution to its constellation. Cetus is also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":63853,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon.jpg",1200,1085,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon-300x271.jpg",300,271,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon-768x694.jpg",768,694,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon-1024x926.jpg",800,723,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon.jpg",1200,1085,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/mira-is-a-pulsating-star-that-could-go-supernova-any-time-soon.jpg",1200,1085,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Pete Lawrence Published: Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at 13:42 PM Mira is a red giant star located in the neck of Cetus that varies in brightness, pulsating on a 332-day cycle. When dimmest, a telescope is required to see it, but when brightest, it makes a noticeable contribution to its constellation. Cetus is also…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/63852"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}