by APOD Robot » Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:11 am
Doomed Star Eta Carinae
Explanation: Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now.
Eta Carinae's mass - about 100 times greater than our
Sun - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown
supernova. Historical records do show that about 170 years ago
Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the
brightest stars in the
southern sky.
Eta Carinae, in the
Keyhole Nebula, is the only
star currently
thought to emit natural LASER light. This
featured image brings out details in the
unusual nebula that surrounds
this rogue star.
Diffraction spikes, caused by the telescope, are visible as bright multi-colored streaks emanating from Eta Carinae's center. Two distinct lobes of the
Homunculus Nebula encompass the
hot central region, while some strange radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the image right. The lobes are
filled with lanes of gas and
dust which absorb the blue and
ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks, however, remain
unexplained.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190220.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_190220.jpg[/img] [size=150]Doomed Star Eta Carinae[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap991011.html]Eta Carinae[/url]'s mass - about 100 times greater than our [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/sun.html]Sun[/url] - makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown [url=https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/supernovae2.html]supernova[/url]. Historical records do show that about 170 years ago [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae]Eta Carinae[/url] underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the [url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/%7Edolan/constellations/extra/brightest.html]brightest stars[/url] in the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000618.html]southern sky[/url]. [url=http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/etacar.html]Eta Carinae[/url], in the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160814.html]Keyhole Nebula[/url], is the only [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaBxMo4b74g]star[/url] currently [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap971129.html]thought to emit natural LASER light[/url]. This [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/32019832757/]featured image[/url] brings out details in the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpnhCEqcRvY]unusual nebula[/url] that surrounds [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997ARA%26A..35....1D]this rogue star[/url]. [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010415.html]Diffraction spikes[/url], caused by the telescope, are visible as bright multi-colored streaks emanating from Eta Carinae's center. Two distinct lobes of the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140717.html]Homunculus Nebula[/url] encompass the [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995ApJ...445L.121C]hot central region[/url], while some strange radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the image right. The lobes are [url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7184]filled[/url] with lanes of gas and [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html]dust[/url] which absorb the blue and [url=https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves]ultraviolet light[/url] emitted near the center. The streaks, however, remain [url=http://en.bcdn.biz/Images/2016/6/22/2617d6e7-4f6a-4c46-9020-c3aee00f3c79.jpg]unexplained[/url].
[table][tr][td=left][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190219][b]<< Previous APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=center][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=0220][b]This Day in APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=right][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190221][b]Next APOD >>[/b][/url][/td][/tr][/table]