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VY CMa

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

VY Canis Majoris is a massive, red, supergiant star, which is evolving toward a supernova explosion. It is currently in a state characterized by substantial mass loss from its surface, which creates a dense circumstellar envelope, with a complicated morphology, which is rich in primarily oxygen-bearing species and cosmic dust (most likely in the form of silicates). The oxygen-rich nature of its circumstellar matter (i.e., the abundance of oxygen is higher than that of carbon) limits somewhat the chemical complexity, but more than 20 circumstellar molecular species have been detected. Noteworthy is the presence of aluminum, phosphorus, and titanium oxides.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Hans Olofsson

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  1. Hans Olofsson
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Correspondence to Hans Olofsson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Olofsson, H. (2014). VY CMa. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5297-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5297-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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