Nova Centauri 2013: vista da La Silla

Alfa e Beta Centauri, due delle stelle più brillanti del cielo meridionale, si sono trovate con una nuova compagna verso la fine del 2013 - la Nova Centauri 2013, visibile a occhio nudo.

Questa foto è di Yuri Beletsky, Fotografo Ambasciatore dell'ESO, presa all'osservatorio dell'ESO di La Silla nel Deserto di Atacama in Cile, all'alba del 9 dicembre 2013.

La nova è stata scoperta da John Seach dall'Australia il 2 dicembre 2013, quando stava per raggiungere la luminosità limite per essere vista a occhio nudo. Nova Centauri 2013 è finora la nova più brillante di questo millennio.

Questo evento viene definito "nova classica", da non confondersi con una supernova. Le nove classiche avvengono in una sistema binario quando l'idrogeno gassoso della stella compagna cade verso la stella principale, provocando un evento di fusione termonucleare che ha come effetto l'aumento improvviso della luminosità della stella principale. Nelle nove classiche la stella principale non viene distrutta, come invece accade per una supernova. Invece, la stella diventa molto brillante e si gonfia un guscio di detriti stellari.

La nova in questa immagine è appena a sinistra di Beta Centauri, la stella più blu e più in alto delle due stelle brillanti nella zona in basso in a destra. La Croce del Sud e la Nebulosa Sacco di Carbone appaiono in alto.

Davanti a sinistra il telescopio da 3,6 metri dell'ESO, inaugurato nel 1976, che attualmente osserva in combinazione con lo spettrografo HARPS, la macchina cercatrice di pianeti più prolifica al mondo. A circa 600 km a nord di Santiago, 2400 m di altezza s.l.m. sul bordo del Deserto di Atacama in Cile, La Silla è stato il primo sito osservativo dell'ESO in Cile e il più grande osservatorio per il suo tempo.

    Crediti:

    Y. Beletsky (LCO)/ESO

    Riguardo l'immagine

    Identificazione:potw1349a
    Lingua:it-ch
    Tipo:Collage
    Data di rilascio:Mercoledì 29 Luglio 2015 12:00
    Notizie relative:eso1531
    Grandezza:3500 x 2333 px

    Riguardo all'oggetto

    Nome:Nova Centauri 2013
    Tipo:Milky Way : Star : Type : Variable : Nova

    Formati delle immagini

    JPEG grande
    4,5 MB

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