Chandra Release - December 30, 2004

Visual Description: Beta Ceti

This is a Chandra X-ray Observatory image featuring the giant star Beta Ceti.  The dominant colors in the image are orange and white for the star, centered on a large solid black background.  The shape of the X-ray data of the star is irregularly circular and blobby, with a small white source in the center.  Beta Ceti is a bright, giant star with a hot corona that radiates about 2,000 times more X-ray power than the Sun. Scientists suspect that this X-ray activity is somehow related to its advanced stage of evolution called core helium burning. During this stage, the core of the star is very hot (more than a hundred million degrees Celsius) and converting helium to carbon via nuclear fusion reactions.