Perhaps we all know that age-old bias that scientists can’t have a little fun since they seek proof and the objective truth in everything. But astronomers who are in charge of the age-old Hubble Space Telescope are once again ready to prove us wrong.
Hubble is less than two months away from being replaced by the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope. Even so, Hubble still has a lot of exciting stuff to prove to the world. According to SciTechDaily.com, the over three-decades-old telescope presents to us a spooky glowering carbon star.
Get ready for CW Leonis!
CW Leonis is the carbon star in question, and we must admit right from the start that it indeed looks terrifying! The object is located roughly 400 light-years away from us – more precisely, in the constellation Leo.
But what exactly is a carbon star? It’s simple: it’s a type of red giant star that possesses an atmosphere rich in carbon.
The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope that will replace Hubble on December 18 will have a lot to offer to the world. For instance, it will analyze the supermassive black hole located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The unusual flaring of the cosmic monster is what triggers the curiosity of scientists, and Webb will hopefully bring some compelling answers.
Astronomer Farhad Yusef-Zadeh declared as cited by SciTechDaily.com:
Our galaxy’s supermassive black hole is the only one known to have this kind of flaring, and while that has made capturing an image of the region very difficult, it also makes Sagittarius A* even more scientifically interesting.
We can only be willing to see how the James Webb Space Telescope will celebrate Halloween. However, we’ll have to wait another year for that, most probably.
