Light echoes whisper the distance to a star - Position of RS Pup in the Galaxy - (Artist's Impression)
February 13, 2008
This artist's impression shows the location of the Cepheid star RS Pup in our Galaxy, as determined by the astronomers using data from ESO's NTT. From the observations of the echoes on several nebular features, the distance of RS Pup was found to be 6500 light years, with an uncertainty of 90 light years. RS Pup is distant by about a quarter of the distance between the Sun and the Centre of the Milky Way. RS Pup is located within the Galactic plane, in a very populated region of our Galaxy.
Topics: Puppis constellation, Spiral galaxies, Local Group, Galactic coordinate system, RS Puppis, Standard candles, Star, Cepheid variable, Galaxy, Milky Way