Speeding Star Kappa Cassiopeiae Creates Giant Shock Wave
Posted on February 22, 2014
A speeding star, named Kappa Cassiopeiae (HD 2905), is moving so quickly it has created a giant shock wave. The star is one of the brightest stars in the constellation Cassiopeia. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured the red arc of the shockwave in the infrared image above, which NASA shared on Instagram. This red arc is known as a bow shock.
NASA says in the announcement that Kappa Cassiopeiae is cruising through space at 2.5 million mph relative to its neighbors. NASA says the bow shock is 4 light-years ahead of the fast moving star. NASA says bow shocks form "where the magnetic fields and wind of particles flowing off a star collide with the diffuse, and usually invisible, gas and dust that fill the space between stars."