The Milky Way

A star in the dusty centre of the Milky Way has been found to be the galaxy’s second-brightest, shining with the light of 3.2 million Suns (Mark Henderson writes).

Observations of the “Peony nebula star” with Nasa’s Spitzer space telescope have shown that it is more luminous than any celestial object apart from Eta Carinae, which produces the equivalent of 4.7 million Suns of light. While the blazing ball of gas was already known to astronomers, it had not been possible to calculate its brightness until the Spitzer telescope turned its infra-red camera in its direction, as it was shrouded in clouds of dust. The difficulty of observing the object means that it could be even brighter than Eta Carinae, and it is likely that other more luminous stars exist.

Lidia Oskinova, of Potsdam University in Germany, who led the observation team, said: “The Peony nebula star is a fascinating creature. It appears to be the second-brightest star that we now know of in the galaxy, and it’s located deep into the galaxy’s centre. There are probably other stars just as bright, if not brighter, in our galaxy that remain hidden from view.”

Details of the discovery will be published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. The brightest star visible in the night sky is Sirius.

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