Found: Milky Way's Second-Brightest Star

That's where infrared instruments on telescopes like the space-borne Spitzer Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope in Chile help, explains Gull. Infrared light emitted by the stars cuts through the gas and dust and allows astronomers to detect stars shrouded in the interstellar mists.

What's more, the discovery of the Peony Nebula star suggests there are more giants out there hiding in the mists.

"There's no reason to believe this is unique," said astronomer Lida Oskinova of Potsdam University in Germany. She is the co-author of a paper describing the Peony Nebula star discovery in the latest issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Besides being big and bright, the Peony Nebula star and Eta Carina are also ticking time-bombs. Super-giant stars not only burn brighter and live shorter lives than other stars, their lives also tend to end badly -- with a gigantic explosion called a supernova that can briefly outshine the entire galaxy and spread heavy elements far and wide.

"Is Eta Carina the next supernova?" asked Gull.

Or maybe it's the Peony Nebula star. Getting a better view of these and other super-giants would go a long way toward piecing together how they age and what signs they give off before going ka-boom.

Related Links:

Larry O'Hanlon's blog: Earth Impacts

Discovery Space

How Stuff Works: Stars

Spitzer Space Telescope