LIGHT CONTINUES TO ECHO THREE YEARS AFTER STELLAR OUTBURST (STScI-PRC05-02-Heritage)

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EST) February 3, 2005

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC05-02

LIGHT CONTINUES TO ECHO THREE YEARS AFTER STELLAR OUTBURST

The Hubble Space Telescope's latest image of the star V838 Monocerotis
(V838 Mon) reveals dramatic changes in the illumination of surrounding
dusty cloud structures. The effect, called a light echo, has been
unveiling never-before-seen dust patterns ever since the star suddenly
brightened for several weeks in early 2002.

The new image of V838 Mon, taken in October 2004 with Hubble's Advanced
Camera for Surveys, was prepared from images obtained through filters
that isolate blue, green, and infrared light. These images have been
combined to produce a full-color picture that approximates the true
colors of the light echo and the very red star near the center.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Acknowledgment: H.E. Bond (STScI)

To see and read more, please visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2005/02
http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/02
www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic0503.html

For additional information, please contact:
Keith Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive,
Baltimore, Md. 21218, (phone) 410-338-1828, (fax) 410-338-4579,
(email) or

Howard Bond, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive,
Baltimore, Md. 21218, (phone) 410-338-4718, (fax) 410-338-4579,
(email) .

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for
NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

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