Mira

Location of Mira (circled)
Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation	Cetus
Right ascension	02h 19m 20.79210s[1]
Declination	–02° 58′ 39.4956″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	3.04[2] (2.0 to 10.1)[3]
Characteristics
Spectral type	M7 IIIe[4]
U−B color index	+0.08[5]
B−V color index	+1.53[5]
Variable type	Mira
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)	+63.8[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ)	RA: +9.33[1] mas/yr Dec.: –237.36[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)	10.91 ± 1.22[1] mas
Distance	approx. 300 ly (approx. 90 pc)
Details
Mass	1.18[7] M☉
Radius	332–402[8] R☉
Luminosity	8,400–9,360[8] L☉
Temperature	2918–3192[8] K
Age	6[7] Gyr
Other designations
Stella Mira, Collum Ceti, Wonderful Star,[9] Omicron Ceti, 68 Ceti, HR 681, BD -03°353, HD 14386, LTT 1179, SAO 129825, HIP 10826.[10]

Mira ( /ˈmaɪrə/ or  /ˈmɪrə/) also known as Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, ο Cet), is a red giant star estimated 200-400 light years away in the constellation Cetus. Mira is a binary star, consisting of the red giant Mira A along with Mira B. Mira A is also an oscillating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered, with the possible exception of Algol. Apart from the unusual Eta Carinae, Mira is the brightest periodic variable in the sky that is not visible to the naked eye for part of its cycle. Its distance is uncertain; pre-Hipparcos estimates centered around 220 light-years,^[11] while Hipparcos data suggest a distance of 418 light-years, albeit with a margin of error of ~14%.

Observation history[link]

Evidence that the variability of Mira was known in ancient China, Babylon or Greece is at best only circumstantial.^[12] What is certain is that the variability of Mira was recorded by the astronomer David Fabricius beginning on August 3, 1596. Observing the planet Mercury, he needed a reference star for comparing positions and picked a previously unremarked third-magnitude star nearby. By August 21, however, it had increased in brightness by one magnitude, then by October had faded from view. Fabricius assumed it was a nova, but then saw it again on February 16, 1609.^[13]

In 1638 Johannes Holwarda determined a period of the star's reappearances, eleven months; he is often credited with the discovery of Mira's variability. Johannes Hevelius was observing it at the same time and named it "Mira" (meaning "wonderful" or "astonishing," in Latin) in 1662's Historiola Mirae Stellae, for it acted like no other known star. Ismail Bouillaud then estimated its period at 333 days, less than one day off the modern value of 332 days, and perfectly forgivable, as Mira is known to vary slightly in period, and may even be slowly changing over time. The star is estimated to be a 6-billion-year-old red giant.

There is considerable speculation as to whether Mira had been observed prior to Fabricius. Certainly Algol's history (known for certain as a variable only in 1667, but with legends and such dating back to antiquity showing that it had been observed with suspicion for millennia) suggests that Mira might have been known too. Karl Manitius, a translator of Hipparchus' Commentary on Aratus, has suggested that certain lines from that second century text may be about Mira. The other pre-telescopic Western catalogs of Ptolemy, al-Sufi, Ulugh Beg, and Tycho Brahe turn up no mentions, even as a regular star. There are three observations from Chinese and Korean archives, in 1596, 1070, and the same year when Hipparchus would have made his observation (134 BC) that are suggestive, but the Chinese practice of pinning down observations no more precisely than within a given Chinese constellation makes it difficult to be sure.

Mira as seen by Hubble. NASA image

Mira as seen from the Earth

System[link]

Mira is a binary star system that consists of a red giant (Mira A) undergoing mass loss and a high temperature white dwarf companion (Mira B) that is accreting mass from the primary. Such an arrangement of stars is known as a symbiotic system and this is the closest such symbiotic pair to the Sun. Examination of this system by the Chandra X-ray Observatory shows a direct mass exchange along a bridge of matter from the primary to the white dwarf. The two stars are currently separated by about 70 astronomical units.^[14]

Component A[link]

Mira A is currently an Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) star, in the thermally pulsing AGB phase.^[15][16] Each pulse lasts a decade or more, and an amount of time on the order of 10,000 years passes between each pulse. With every pulse cycle Mira increases in luminosity and the pulses grow stronger. This is also causing dynamic instability in Mira, resulting in dramatic changes in luminosity and size over shorter, irregular time periods.^[17]

The overall shape of Mira A has been observed to change, exhibiting pronounced departures from symmetry. These appear to be caused by bright spots on the surface that evolve their shape on time scales of 3–14 months. Observations of Mira A in the ultraviolet band by the Hubble Space Telescope have shown a plume-like feature pointing toward the companion star.^[16]

Variability[link]

Mira A is a well-known example of a category of variable stars known as Mira variables, which are named after this star. It (and the other ca 6,000 to 7,000 known stars of this class^[18]) are all red giants whose surfaces oscillate in such a way as to increase and decrease in brightness over periods ranging from about 80 to more than 1,000 days.

In the particular case of Mira, its increases in brightness take it up to about magnitude 3.5 on average, placing it among the brighter stars in the Cetus constellation. Individual cycles vary too; well-attested maxima go as high as magnitude 2.0 in brightness and as low as 4.9, a range almost 15 times in brightness, and there are historical suggestions that the real spread may be three times this or more. Minima range much less, and have historically been between 8.6 and 10.1, a factor of four times in luminosity. The total swing in brightness from absolute maximum to absolute minimum (two events which did not occur on the same cycle) is 1,700 times. Interestingly, since Mira emits the vast majority of its radiation in the infrared, its variability in that band is only about two magnitudes. The shape of its light curve is of an increase over about 100 days, and a return twice as long.^[19]

Contemporary approximate maxima for Mira:^[20]

Mass loss[link]

Ultra-violet studies of Mira by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (Galex) space telescope have revealed that it sheds a trail of material from the outer envelope, leaving a tail 13 light-years in length, formed over tens of thousands of years.^[21][22] It is thought that a hot bow-wave of compressed plasma/gas is the cause of the tail; the bow-wave is a result of the interaction of the stellar wind from Mira A with gas in interstellar space, through which Mira is moving at an extremely high speed of 130 kilometres/second.^[23][24] The tail consists of material stripped from the head of the bow-wave, which is also visible in ultra-violet observations. Mira's bow-shock will eventually evolve into a planetary nebula, the form of which will be considerably affected by the motion through the interstellar medium (ISM).^[25]

Ultraviolet mosaic of Mira's bow shock and tail obtained using NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX).

Component B[link]

The companion star was resolved by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, when it was 70 astronomical units from the primary; results were announced in 1997. The HST ultraviolet images and later X-ray images by the Chandra space telescope show a spiral of gas rising off Mira in the direction of Mira B. The companion's orbital period around Mira is approximately 400 years.

In 2007, observations showed a protoplanetary disc around the companion, Mira B. This disc is being accreted from material in the solar wind from Mira and could eventually form new planets. These observations also hinted that the companion was a main sequence star of around 0.7 solar masses and spectral type K, instead of a white dwarf as originally thought.^[26] However in 2010 further research indicated that Mira B is in fact a white dwarf.^[27]

See also[link]

Star portal

• Mira in fiction

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mira Ceti

• Mira – Bizarre Star at NASA
• History of Mira's Discovery at AAVSO
• Mira has tail nearly 13 light years in length (BBC)
• Speeding Bullet Star Leaves Enormous Streak Across Sky at Caltech
• Astronomy Picture of the Day:
  1998-10-11, 2001-01-21, 2006-07-22, 2007-02-21, 2007-08-17
• "Mira (Omicron Ceti)". The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight. http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/M/Mira.html. Retrieved June 22, 2006. 
• "Interferometric observations of the Mira star o Ceti with the VLTI/VINCI instrument in the near-infrared". http://www.eso.org/~mwittkow/publications/conferences/SPIECWo5491199.pdf. 
• Robert Burnham Jr., Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Vol. 1, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1978), 634.
• James Kaler, The Hundred Greatest Stars, (New York: Copernicus Books, 2002), 121.
• SEDS article
• A recent lightcurve of Mira from the BAV.
• Universe Today, That's Not a Comet, that's a Star
• OMICRON CETI (Mira)
• Winter 2006: Omicron Ceti (Mira)

Melody Gardot
Gardot in Berlin, Germany (2010)
Background information
Born	(1985-02-02) February 2, 1985 (age 27), New Jersey
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Jazz, acoustic, blues
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active	2005–present
Labels	UCJ/Verve (2009–present)
Website	www.melodygardot.com

Melody Gardot /ɡɑrˈdoʊ/ (born February 2, 1985) is a Grammy-nominated American singer, writer and musician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, though she considers herself a "citizen of the world".^[1] She has been influenced by such blues and jazz artists as Judy Garland, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz and George Gershwin as well as Latin music artists such as Caetano Veloso.^[2] Her music has been compared to that of Nina Simone.^[3]

Gardot follows the teachings of Buddhism,^[4][5] is a macrobiotic cook^[6] and humanitarian who often speaks about the benefits of music therapy. She has visited various universities and hospitals to speak about its ability to help reconnect neural pathways in the brain, improve speech ability, and lift general spirits. In a recent interview she was rumored^{[citation needed]} to be working closely in a university in the United States to help develop a program for music therapy and the management of pain, something she has spoken about establishing in the future on her own.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and education[link]

Gardot was born in New Jersey and was largely brought up by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Polish immigrant and her mother a photographer who worked and traveled frequently. They moved around often and as a consequence had very few possessions, often living out of suitcases.^[7] Because of Gardot’s career, she does not stay in one place for long and she finds herself living out of three suit cases, as she did when she was a child.^[8]

Gardot studied fashion at the Community College of Philadelphia.^[9]

Accident and therapy[link]

While cycling in Philadelphia in November 2003^[10] she was hit by a Jeep Cherokee whose driver had ignored a red traffic light. In the accident she suffered serious head and spinal injuries and her pelvis was broken in two places. Because of these severe injuries she was confined to her hospital bed for a year and had to remain lying on her back. As a further consequence of her injuries she had to re-learn simple tasks such as brushing her teeth and walking. The most noticeable effect of the neural injuries she suffered is that she was left hyper-sensitive to both light and sound, therefore requiring her to wear dark sunglasses at nearly all times to shield her eyes.^[7] The accident also resulted in both long and short term memory problems and difficulty with her sense of time. Gardot has described coping with this as like "climbing Mount Everest every day" as she often wakes with no memory of what she has to do that day.^[4]

Initially prompted by an attending physician who believed music would help her brain injury drastically improve, Gardot began writing music after her accident^[11] and since then often speaks and advocates in favour of using music for therapy. The accident had damaged the neural pathways between the brain's two cortexes which control perception and higher mental function, and made Gardot (in her own words) "a bit of a vegetable."^[12] As well as making it very hard for her to speak or communicate properly, she found it difficult to recall the right words to express her feelings.

Music involving listening and making a verbal attempt to sing or hum is thought^[who?] to help the brain form new pathways.^{[citation needed]} At first, Gardot learned to hum and was eventually able to sing into a tape recorder. She made good progress and was eventually able to write original songs that sometimes referred to her rehabilitation.^[12]

Gardot's doctor at the University of Medicine of New Jersey, Richard Jermyn, compared her condition to a computer. The computer was still intact and the memory was there but she could not access it. “That's what a brain injury does - It takes your ability to access that away”, Jermyn stated.^[13]

For several years after the accident Gardot traveled with a physiotherapist and carried a TENS machine strapped to her waist which released pain reducing impulses.^[7] While onstage Gardot explains, "the first maybe half a dozen times experiencing this, that was the only 30 minutes in my life that I did not feel pain for that moment. And it was addictive." And so from her accident to her first performances, her music career was born. “It was a most unusual start, but when you come from a place where things are tough it makes it that much easier to appreciate the times when life is easy”, she said.^[14]

After her accident, Gardot could not listen to the music she had listened to before, as she could not tolerate anything above a whisper. Because of this, she had to find quieter, more soothing music to listen to. She recalls that while on the treadmill learning to walk again, she would listen to Stan Getz's The Bossa Nova Years album.^[15] Because Gardot could not sit comfortably at a piano, she learned to play guitar on her back while in the hospital and shortly after began to write her own music.^[16] During her recovery, she wrote material that later became part of a five song EP, “Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions” that Gardot produced herself.^[17] Gardot was reluctant to record her songs at first, stating that they were too private for the public to hear. However she soon relented and her songs were soon being played on a Philadelphia radio station.^[18]

She was introduced to macrobiotics by a friend who lent her a book on its benefits. She began to experiment and cook for several hours a day. As well as reducing her pain levels, she believes that macrobiotics helped her mental ability to cope with pain, helping her relax as the routine of cooking helped take her mind off her physical condition and she also found that she was able to sleep more easily.^[19]

Music career[link]

Gardot started music lessons at the age of nine^[20] and began playing piano in Philadelphia bars at the age of sixteen on Fridays and Saturdays for four hours a night. She insisted on only playing music she liked, ranging from standards from The Mamas & the Papas to Duke Ellington and modern groups such as Radiohead.^[21]

During her time in hospital she learned how to play the guitar and began writing songs, which were made available as downloads in iTunes and released in Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions in 2005. She began to play these songs at venues in Philadelphia and was spotted by the radio station WXPN, operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which helped to launch Norah Jones. As well as playing her songs, WXPN encouraged her to assemble a demo, which was quickly picked up by Universal Records.^[7]

Released in 2006 and then re-released by Verve Records in 2008, her first full-length album was entitled Worrisome Heart. After meeting her in New York City in 2008, producer Larry Klein began working with Gardot and they released her second album, My One and Only Thrill, on April 28, 2009. From this album, the song "Who Will Comfort Me?" became a top 10 hit at Smooth Jazz radio. Also in 2009, Gardot released a live EP, Live from SoHo. Gardot is a recipient of the 2007 VSA International Young Soloists Award.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

• "Worrisome Heart" (2008)
• "Goodnite" (2008)
• "Quiet Fire" (2008)
• "Who Will Comfort Me" (2009) (#6 on Jazz Songs)
• "Baby I'm a Fool" (2009) (#28 on Jazz Songs)
• "Your Heart Is As Black As Night" (2011)
• "Mira" (2012)
• "Amalia" (2012)

Collaborations[link]

Gardot appears on the following songs, on vocals and occasionally piano or guitar, by other artists:

Bluer Than A Midnight Sky – Beaucoup Blue – Free To Fall

High Night (Alta Noite) – Till Brönner – RIO

If I'm Lucky – Charlie Haden Quartet West – Sophisticated Ladies

My Sweet Darling – Seth Kallen & The Reaction – Exhibit A

A Meditation On War And The Fight For Love – Phil Roy – The Great Longing

Derrière L'arc-En-Ciel/Over the Rainbow – Eddy Mitchell – Grand Ecran

Under My Skin - A 30 second Frank Sinatra cover used in the 2008 Chevy Malibu commercials

Sous Les Ponts de Paris (Under The Bridges Of Paris) - Juliette Gréco - Ça Se Traverse et C'est Beau (released Feb 21, 2012)

Covers of songs by other songwriters[link]

As she is usually considered a jazz singer, Gardot is unusual in her output of original songs so early in her career. Nearly all of the songs on her recordings are original work, although some were co-written with Jesse Harris. She has, however, performed covers of songs by some well-known songwriters:

• Fever – Cooley/Blackwell, Peggy Lee (live performance during 2007 London Jazz Festival Ella Fitzgerald tribute concert)
• Over the Rainbow – Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg (My One and Only Thrill; numerous live performances during 2008-2010)
• Ain't No Sunshine – Bill Withers (My One and Only Thrill, Deluxe Edition; several live performances during 2008-2009)
• Blue Motel Room – Joni Mitchell (performed live in Philadelphia in 2006)
• Edith and the Kingpin – Joni Mitchell (performed on Live From Abbey Road in 2008, with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter)
• La Chanson des Vieux Amants – Jacques Brel (performed live in Paris in 2009, with David Preston on guitar)
• Because – The Beatles (performed on Live from Abbey Road in 2009, with David Preston on guitar)
• Get Out of Town – Cole Porter (performed live in Paris in 2010 in two different arrangements, and on BBC Four Sessions 2010)
• Someday My Prince Will Come – Larry Morey (lyrics) & Frank Churchill (performed on BBC Four Sessions 2010)
• Summertime – DuBose Heyward (lyrics) & George Gershwin (numerous live performances in 2010 summer tour, often in medley with 'Fever')

References[link]

External links[link]

• Melody Gardot official website
• Melody Gardot at Verve Records website