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Google doodle honors Mexican astronomer Guillermo Haro

Among his greatest contributions, Haro discovered the existence of flare stars -- red and blue stars that experience dramatic increases in brightness.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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The next time you find yourself gazing at the stars, locate Orion's Belt and you may spot what catapulted Guillermo Haro to astronomy fame.

It was in the Orion nebula region that Haro co-discovered flare stars, red and blue stars that experience unpredictable dramatic increases in brightness for a few minutes. This shining moment is part of the reason Google has dedicated its doodle on Wednesday to Haro on his 105th birthday.

From the newly founded Observatorio Astrofísico de Tonantzintla in Mexico, he also discovered small interstellar clouds of dust, hydrogen and helium associated with newborn stars. This discovery was dubbed Herbig-Haro objects, sharing credit with George Herbig, who made his discovery independently.

Born in Mexico City during the Mexican revolution, Haro was influential in the development of astronomy in Mexico. For his work, an observatory in the Mexican state of Sonora bears Haro's name.

He went on to be the first person elected to the Royal Astronomical Society from a developing country.

Haro died on April 26, 1988.

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