The "Peony nebula" star, circled, is now the second-brightest star in our galaxy. A contender for the title of brightest star in our Milky Way galaxy has been unearthed in the dusty metropolis of the galaxy's center.

(July 16, 2008 05:57pm)-- SCIENTISTS using NASA's Spitzer Telescope have discovered a star that could be our galaxy's brightest.

The Peony Nebula star, shining 3.2 million times as the sun, could be the brightest light if it was placed at equal distance with the current record holder, the Eta Carinae.

The Peony Nebula is 26,093 light-years away. The Eta Carinae is only 7500 light-years away and is thought to shine 4.7 million times brighter than the sun.

As there is some uncertainty around the luminosity estimates for the Peony as well as the Eta Carinae, it's possible that the Peony could be the brightest.

NASA knew about the Peony's existence, but couldn't calculate its brightness until is used the Spitzer Telescope.

Spitzer's infrared camera pierced the clouds of cosmic dust that shrouded the Peony, located deep within the Milky Way's crowded centre.

"Infrared astronomy opens extraordinary views into the environment of the central region of our galaxy," Potsdam University astronomer Lidia Oskinova said.

The Peony is classified as a Wolf-Rayet star, with a diameter roughly 100 times, and an originating mass 150 to 200 times more than that of our sun.

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