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To help kick off the Summer sky viewing season in the Northern Hemisphere, here is an Animated #GIF of V838 Monocerotis.

a red variable star in the constellation Monoceros about 20,000 light years (6 kpc) from the Sun. The previously unknown star was observed in early 2002 experiencing a major outburst. The reason for the outburst is still uncertain, but several conjectures have been put forward, including an eruption related to stellar death processes and a merger of a binary star or planets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V838_Monocerotis