Related papers: Discovery of multiple shells around V838 Monocerot…
The unusual variable star V838 Monocerotis underwent an eruption in 2002. It continues to illuminate a spectacular series of light echoes, as the outburst light is scattered from circumstellar dust. V838 Mon has an unresolved B3 V companion…
Aims. V838 Monocerotis erupted in 2002, brightened in a series of outbursts, and eventually developed a spectacular light echo. A very red star emerged a few months after the outburst. The whole event has been interpreted as the result of a…
Context. V838 Mon is an eruptive variable, which exploded in 2002. It displayed the most spectacular light echo ever observed. However, neither the origin of the reflecting matter nor the nature of the 2002 outburst have been firmly…
We summarize and analyze the available observational data on the progenitor and the enviroment of V838 Mon. From the available photometric data for the progenitor of V838 Mon we exclude the possibility that the object before eruption was an…
We report high spatial resolution 11.2 and 18.1 micron imaging of the eruptive variable V838 Monocerotis, obtained with Gemini Observatory's Michelle in 2007 March. The 2007 flux density of the unresolved stellar core is roughly 2 times…
Herschel FIR imaging and spectroscopy were taken at several epochs to probe the central point source and the extended environment of V838 Mon. PACS and SPIRE maps were used to obtain photometry of the near and far dust around V838 Mon.…
V838 Mon erupted in 2002 quickly becoming the prototype of a new type of stellar eruptions known today as (luminous) red novae. The red nova outbursts are thought to be caused by stellar mergers. The merger in V838 Mon took place in a…
V838 Mon erupted at the beginning of 2002 becoming an extremely luminous star with L=10^6 L_sun. The outburst was followed by the spectacular light echo that revealed that the star is immersed in a diffuse and dusty medium, plausibly…
We report high spatial resolution 11.2 and 18.1 micron imaging of V838 Monocerotis obtained with Gemini Observatory's Michelle instrument in 2007 March. Strong emission is observed from the unresolved stellar core of V838 Mon in our Gemini…
Following its 2002 February eruption, V838 Mon developed a light echo that continues to expand and evolve as light from the outburst scatters off progressively more distant circumstellar and/or interstellar material. Multi-filter images of…
Context. V838 Monocerotis is a peculiar binary that underwent an immense stellar explosion in 2002, leaving behind an expanding cool supergiant and a hot B3V companion. Five years after the outburst, the B3V companion disappeared from view,…
In 2002, V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) erupted in a red novae event which has been interpreted to be a stellar merger. Soon after reaching peak luminosity, it began to cool, and its spectrum evolved to later spectral types. Dust was also…
V838 Mon erupted at the beginning of 2002. Among various scenarios proposed to explain the nature of the outburst, the most promising is a stellar merger event. The results of spectroscopic observations of the object obtained in October…
V838 Mon erupted at the beginning of 2002. In the course of the outburst the object evolved to low effective temperatures and declined as a very late M-type supergiant. Among various scenarios proposed to explain the nature of the outburst,…
The unusual eruptive variable discovered in Monoceros in 2002 January underwent dramatic photometric and spectroscopic changes in the months prior to its 2002 June-August conjunction with the Sun. Optical and infrared (IR) photometry…
We present imaging polarimetry observations of the eruptive variable V838 Monocerotis and its neighboring field obtained in 2002 October. The polarization of field stars confirms the previously determined interstellar polarization along the…
Luminous Red Variables (LRVs) are most likely eruptions that are the outcome of stellar mergers. V838 Mon is one of the best-studied members of this class, representing an archetype for stellar mergers resulting from B-type stars. As result…
During a program of spectroscopic monitoring of V838 Mon, we serendipitously discovered that a neighboring 16th-mag star is of type B. We then carried out a spectroscopic survey of other stars in the vicinity, revealing two more B-type…
By fitting the available photometric data on V838 Mon with standard supergiant spectra we have derived principal stellar parameters, i.e. effective temperature, radius and luminosity, and followed the evolution of the object since its…
V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) erupted in 2002 as a luminous red nova after which it cooled and began to form dust. The remnant is predicted to become a blue straggler. Interferometric observations in the HKLM bands have uncovered a stable…