Yearlong Star Eclipse May Help Solve Space Mystery

[n2doc]

Victoria Jaggard in Washington, D.C.
National Geographic News
January 5, 2010

While relatively few people were looking, an unusual eclipse darkened New Year's Day.

On January 1 a giant space object blotted out our view of Epsilon Aurigae, a yellow supergiant star about 2,000 light-years from Earth. Based on studies of Epsilon Aurigae's previous eclipses, astronomers expect the star won't fully regain its bright shine until early 2011.

Normally the star is so bright it can be seen with the naked eye even by city dwellers. For all but the most rural star-gazers, though, the mystery object that eclipses the star causes it to vanish for about 18 months every 27.1 years.

Ever since the star's periodic eclipses were first recorded in 1821, astronomers have been puzzling over how Epsilon Aurigae pulls off its lengthy disappearing act.

Now, "using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, we've reached a solution to a nearly two-century-old mystery," study leader Don Hoard, of the California Institute of Technology, said today at an American Astronomical Association press briefing in Washington, D.C.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100105-star-eclipse-giant-disk-don-hoard/

I think it is Ringworld...or an "orbital" for Iain M Banks fans...

[Demoiselle]

1. "Dusty Disk." Nice name for a country singer. (Sorry.)

[Towlie]

2. No, it didn't happen on January 1, it happened 2000 years ago.

:P

[Ready4Change]

3. I think it's morse code.

Really slow morse code.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. It's Krikkit!

I recommend everyone avoids teams of 11 robots in white ...

http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Krikkit (slight spoiler - if you haven't read the 3rd Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel and you want to)

[jayfish]

5. There's A Cool Public Project Going On With epsilon Aurigae Over At Citizen Sky.

http://www.citizensky.org/

Jay

[Odin2005]

6. I remember reading about Epsilon Aurigae in an old astronomy book from the 60s.

About time they finally solved it!