Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Explosions from White Dwarf Star RS Oph

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 26, 2006 is “Explosions from White Dwarf Star RS Oph,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Illustration Credit & Copyright: David A. Hardy & PPARC). The original explanation runs about 164 words.

Explosions from White Dwarf Star RS Oph
Credit: Illustration Credit & Copyright: David A. Hardy & PPARC Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Spectacular explosions keep occurring in the binary star system named RS Ophiuchi . Every 20 years or so, the red giant star dumps enough hydrogen gas onto its companion white dwarf star to set off a brilliant thermonuclear explosion on the white dwarf ‘s surface.”

— APOD editors, July 26, 2006

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
July 26, 2006
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Illustration Credit & Copyright: David A. Hardy & PPARC
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 164 words

All of July 2006 → · 2006 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

On this day: July 26 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.