Chandra Release - September 14, 2010

Visual Description: BP Piscium

In the image, there are two panels side by side. The one on the left shows an X-ray and optical view of a star called BP Piscium, and the other on the right is an artist’s illustration of a close-up look at the object. The left image looks like some tiny faint white and purple dots with a thin irregular jet coming off the central star in the middle. The illustration looks like a bright, fiery star with a disk that surrounds the star and what appears to be a jet coming off the top. The composite image of BP Piscium includes Chandra X-ray Observatory data colored in purple, and optical data from the 3-meter Shane telescope at Lick Observatory in orange, green and blue. The disk and the jets provide evidence for a recent and catastrophic interaction in which BP Piscium consumed a nearby star or giant planet. This happened when BP Piscium ran out of nuclear fuel and expanded into its "red giant" phase.