* Astronomy

XMM-Newton has discovered an exploding star in the Milky Way. Usually that would be important in itself, but this time there is a special twist. Calculations show that the explosion must have been clearly visible to the unaided eye but was missed by the legions of star watchers around the planet.
On 9 October 2007, ESA`s orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton was turning from one target to another. As it did so, it passed across a bright source of X-rays that no one was expecting. The source was not listed in any previous X-ray catalogue, yet XMM-Newton was receiving some 50 X-rays every second from this mysterious object.  
The only celestial object the XMM-Newton team could find at this location was a faint star, known only by its catalogue number USNO-A2.0 0450-03360039.

HI-RES JPEG (Size: 61 kb)

Credits: Contours: ESA/ XMM-Newton/ EPIC

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