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The Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) has filmed the passing of the moon in front of Antares, a bright red star.
The moon passed in front of Antares on April 27, hiding it for roughly 40 minutes.
IIA said that this event was visible only from southern India.
IIA filmed the event from its Bengaluru campus using a camera on an 8-inch telescope.
The word "Antares" written in pink on a gray background is what the image you sent me depicts.
Antares is not just a word, it refers to the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius.
It is a red supergiant, a large and relatively cool star that is hundreds of times larger than the Sun.
Antares is located approximately 570 light-years away from Earth.
Its diameter is estimated to be around 700 times larger than the Sun.
Although a red supergiant, Antares is the 16th brightest star in the night sky despite its distance because of its immense size.
While appearing red to the naked eye, it actually emits mostly green and yellow light.
The reddish hue we see is a result of dust in space absorbing these colours and scattering the red wavelength towards us.
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