a odd ball

• by VSK2000

  it is a star or anything

  Posted October 26, 2012 1:54 PM

• by ElisabethB moderator

  Yes, these are stars. The colors are optical artifacts

  Posted October 26, 2012 1:55 PM

• by jbhulsey

  If these are stars, then where are the four spikes of light that bend around the support beams of the telescope's mirror? Are you sure these aren't green pea galaxies?

  Posted October 26, 2012 6:10 PM

• by vrooje admin, scientist

  ElisabethB is right -- they are artifacts. You can verify it by going into SkyServer and zooming out: everything nearby looks like this.

  Not every star shows up with diffraction spikes. In fact, most don't: you can only see them (in both SDSS and HST) for the bright stars.

  Posted October 26, 2012 6:55 PM