For a brief, shining moment, the red star seen here became the brightest object in our Milky Way galaxy. Last year, the dull, old star appeared to grow to 1,000 times the size of our sun, then cooled off again. Photos of the starburst, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, were revealed March 26.
As light from the burst travels outward, more of the stardust cloud is revealed. This is called a light echo. Scientists hope that the cloud's structure will teach them more about aging stars.