V838 Monocerotis Light Echo

V838 Monocerotis a spectroscopic binary star system (a binary star evident from the Doppler effect) in the constellation Monoceros about 19,000 light years from the Sun. Identified as a luminous red novae, thought to have been [caused by the] merger of two stars within a triple system.

V838 Monocerotis and its light echo as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on December 17, 2002
CreditNASA/ESA
Images showing the expansion of the light echo. Credit: NASA/ESA.

light echo is a physical phenomenon caused by light reflected off surfaces distant from the source, and arriving at the observer with a delay relative to this distance. The phenomenon is analogous to an echo of sound

Reflected light following path B arrives shortly after the direct flash following path A but before light following path C. B and C have the same apparent distancefrom the star as seen from Earth.
Direct light from a stellar outburst (white spot) reaches the observer (path 0) followed by light reflected off particles on progressively wider paraboloids (1–5): the observed disc apparently initially expands faster than light but the illusion is due to light reflecting off different unrelated particles
Animation of 11 images of light echo of V838 Mon

In the case of V838 Monocerotis, the light echo produced was unprecedented and is well documented in images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. While the photos appear to depict an expanding spherical shell of debris, they are actually formed by the illumination of an ever-expanding ellipsoid with the progenitor star at one focus and the observer at the other. Hence, despite appearances, the structures in these photos are actually concave toward the viewer.

Source Wikipedia: V838 Monocerotis, Light echo

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