Nominatedfor most mysterious star in the Milky Way,V838 Monocerotis briefly became one of the brightest starsin our galaxy.Its outburs discoveredin January 2002 observations haveindicated that V83 Mon someho transformed itselfover a period of months from a small under-luminous star alittle hotter than the Sun, to a highly-luminous,cool supergiant star -- defying the conventiona understandingof erupting stars and stellar life cycles In thisspectacular image, one of aseries recorded last year by the Hubble Space Telescope, the dimmedV838 Mon is surrounded by an "expanding" nebula.But the nebulais actually a series o lightechoes from formerly unseen shells of dust up to light-yearsin diameter.Previously ejected, the intricate shell progressivelyreflect light as it reaches them from V838 Mon's outbursts.Astronomers anticipate that light echoes from farther outin the dust envelope will continue to be visibleuntil about 2010.Some estimates no place V838 Monabout 20,000 light-years from planet Earth.
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