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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                   2023 April 28   
      
                         Runaway Star Alpha Camelopardalis   
                            Image Credit: Andr+¬ Vilhena   
      
      Explanation: Like a ship plowing through cosmic seas, runaway star   
      Alpha Camelopardalis has produced this graceful arcing bow wave or bow   
      shock. The massive supergiant star moves at over 60 kilometers per   
      second through space, compressing the interstellar material in its   
      path. At the center of this nearly 6 degree wide view, Alpha Cam is   
      about 25-30 times as massive as the Sun, 5 times hotter (30,000   
      kelvins), and over 500,000 times brighter. About 4,000 light-years away   
      in the long-necked constellation Camelopardalis, the star also produces   
      a strong stellar wind. Alpha Cam's bow shock stands off about 10   
      light-years from the star itself. What set this star in motion?   
      Astronomers have long thought that Alpha Cam was flung out of a nearby   
      cluster of young hot stars due to gravitational interactions with other   
      cluster members or perhaps by the supernova explosion of a massive   
      companion star.   
      
                        Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space   
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          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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