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'''Zeta Puppis''', also called by its traditional name '''Naos''' from the Greek ναύς "ship", or less commonly, '''Suhail Hadar''', is one of the hottest stars in the galaxy and one of the few rare class O stars visible in the night sky, and is the second brightest such star in terms of its apparent magnitude (only [[Zeta Orionis]] appears brighter).  It is located in the constellation of [[Puppis]].  Zeta Puppis is located 1,093 light years away according to the 2008 data from the [[Hipparcos]] mission.<ref>Maíz Apellániz, J.; Alfaro, E. J.; Sota, A. (2008). Accurate distances to nearby massive stars with the new reduction of the Hipparcos raw data. arΧiv:0804.2553</ref>  

'''Zeta Puppis''', also called by its traditional name '''Naos''' from the Greek ναύς "ship", or less commonly, '''Suhail Hadar''', is one of the hottest stars in the galaxy, one of the few rare class O stars visible in the night sky, and is the second brightest such star in terms of its apparent magnitude (only [[Zeta Orionis]] appears brighter).  It is located in the constellation of [[Puppis]].  Zeta Puppis is located 1,093 light years away according to the 2008 data from the [[Hipparcos]] mission.<ref>Maíz Apellániz, J.; Alfaro, E. J.; Sota, A. (2008). Accurate distances to nearby massive stars with the new reduction of the Hipparcos raw data. arΧiv:0804.2553</ref>  

Zeta Puppis is a blue [[supergiant]] star of spectral class O5IAf, making it one of the hottest stars in the [[Milky Way|galaxy]] with a surface temperature of 42,400K (in comparison, the [[Sun]] has a surface temperature of 5,780 K).<ref> Lamers & Cassinelli 1999, accurate to 200 K</ref>  The star’s mass is 59 times that of our Sun, and 20 times its diameter.

Zeta Puppis is a blue [[supergiant]] star of spectral class O5IAf, making it one of the hottest stars in the [[Milky Way|galaxy]] with a surface temperature of 42,400K (in comparison, the [[Sun]] has a surface temperature of 5,780 K).<ref> Lamers & Cassinelli 1999, accurate to 200 K</ref>  The star’s mass is 59 times that of our Sun, and 20 times its diameter.

Because Zeta Puppis is an exceptionally large class O [[supergiant]], it is one of the brightest stars in the [[Milky Way|galaxy]} in terms of absolute magnitude, at -5.96.  The star is 21,000 times as luminous as out Sun visually.  However because it is a class O blue star, most of the radiation from the star is in the [[ultraviolet]].  When this is considered, the star is 790,000 times more luminous then the [[Sun]] overall.

Because Zeta Puppis is an exceptionally large class O [[supergiant]], it is one of the brightest stars in the [[Milky Way|galaxy]] in terms of absolute magnitude, at -5.96.  The star is 21,000 times as luminous as our Sun visually.  However because it is a class O blue star, most of the radiation from the star is in the [[ultraviolet]].  When this is considered, the star is 790,000 times more luminous then the [[Sun]] overall.

Because of its temperature and luminosity, if Zeta Puppis was at the same distance as [[Sirius]] from our [[Solar System]], it would appear as bright as a quarter-moon.  If Zeta Puppis was our Sun, the [[Earth]] would have to be 450 AU away in order to maintain the same temperature and climate, or about 11 times the mean distance of [[Pluto]] from our Sun.

Because of its temperature and luminosity, if Zeta Puppis was at the same distance as [[Sirius]] from our [[Solar System]], it would appear as bright as a quarter-moon.  If Zeta Puppis was our Sun, the [[Earth]] would have to be 450 AU away in order to maintain the same temperature and climate, or about 11 times the mean distance of [[Pluto]] from our Sun.

Like all class O stars, Zeta Puppis is extremely young, estimated to be only one or two million years old, but because it is so bright and hot, the star has already burned through its [[hydrogen]] fuel.  Thus the star is already dying and fusing [[helium]] into [[carbon]] and [[oxygen]] in the core.<ref name="illinois">http://www.astro.illinois.edu/~jkaler/sow/naos.html</ref>  Zeta Puppis over time will cool to a red [[supergiant]] before ending its life in a [[hypernova]] explosion.  Such an explosion will be so powerful, that even at the distance of over 1000 light years; Zeta Puppis will appear much brighter than even the full [[Moon]].

Like all class O stars, Zeta Puppis is extremely young, estimated to be only one or two million years old. But because it is so bright and hot, the star has already burned through its [[hydrogen]] fuel.  Thus, the star is already dying and fusing [[helium]] into [[carbon]] and [[oxygen]] in its core.<ref name="illinois">http://www.astro.illinois.edu/~jkaler/sow/naos.html</ref>  Zeta Puppis over time will cool to a red [[supergiant]] before ending its life in a [[hypernova]] explosion.  Such an explosion will be so powerful, that even at the distance of over 1000 light years Zeta Puppis will appear much brighter than even the full [[Moon]].

Zeta Puppis is a fine example of a class O "runaway" star and is moving at a speed of over 100 kilometers a second.  From the star’s movement, we can explicate the star’s place of origin, which is the molecular cloud of [[Vela]], some 400 light years away from its current location.<ref name="illinois">http://www.astro.illinois.edu/~jkaler/sow/naos.html</ref>

Zeta Puppis is a fine example of a class O "runaway" star and is moving at a speed of over 100 kilometers a second.  From the star’s movement, we can extrapolate the star’s place of origin, the molecular cloud of [[Vela]], some 400 light years away from its current location.<ref name="illinois">http://www.astro.illinois.edu/~jkaler/sow/naos.html</ref>

[[Category:Astronomy]]

[[Category:Astronomy]]