The "Peony nebula" star, circled, is now the second-brightest star in our galaxy. A contender for the title of the brightest star in our galaxy has been unearthed in the dusty metropolis of the galaxy's center. Nicknamed the "Peony nebula star," the bright stellar bulb was revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and other ground-based telescopes. It blazes with the light of an estimated 3.2 million suns. The reigning "brightest star" champion is Eta Carina, with a whopping solar wattage of 4.7 million suns. But according to astronomers, it's hard to pin down an exact brightness, or luminosity, for these scorching stars, so they could potentially shine with a similar amount of light. [Xinhua] |
