Hubble Watches Super Star Create Holiday Light Show

[n2doc]

http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/videos/hs-2013-51-a-320x180_quicktime.m4v
This movie shows the reflection nebula around the Cepheid variable RS Puppis at seven equally spaced intervals during its 41.4-day pulsation period. Each time RS Puppis reaches maximum brightness, it sends another wave of illumination into the surrounding dust. Thus a pattern of apparently expanding bull's-eyes surrounds the variable star, similar to the ripples in a pond produced when a series of stones is thrown into the water. These images were taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in a visual filter over the following dates in 2010: March 25 and 31, April 6, 11, 18, 24, and 29. Each individual image in this sequence had an exposure time of 23 minutes.
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2013/51/image/a/

[TlalocW]

1. Excuse me...

Hubble Watches Super Star Create CHRISTMAS Light Show

Why are you trying to take the reason for the season out of NASA?

TlalocW

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Some time ago, I was wondering if anything like this had ever been observed ...

I was thinking more of pulsars, though ... don't know if reflected light from a pulsar would be intense enough for detection. Of course the pattern of ripples provides info about the distance from the star, which should allow a tentative 3D-model of the nebula.