A graduate student has discovered that astronomers have for years been mistakenly interpreting the dust in the environment CW Leo, of the brightest infrared star in the Northern sky. Images released today show none of the previously identified bright spots in fact contain the famous star, which is now believed to be buried in its own dust 450 light years from earth.
CW Leo is one of the most extensively studied evolved stars, believed to be on the cusp of planetary nebula formation – the process ending the red giant’s life is potentially already under way.
Read the press release from The University of Sydney
Also see the press release from the RAS
Download the research paper from the MNRAS