Eta Carinae

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Dusty Environs of Eta Carinae
Credit: MSX, IPAC, NASA

Eta Car is a massive star, but it's not as bright as it used to be. Now only easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope, Eta Carinae has a history of spectacular flaring and fading behavior. In fact, in April of 1843 Eta Car briefly became second only to Sirius as the brightest star in planet Earth's night sky, even though at a distance of about 7,500 light-years, it is about 80 times farther away. Surrounded by a complex and evolving nebula, Eta Carinae is seen near the center of this false-color infrared image, constructed using data from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX). The MSX satellite mapped the galactic plane in 1996. In the picture, wispy, convoluted filaments are clouds of dust glowing at infrared wavelengths. Astronomers hypothesize that Eta Car itself will explode as a supernova in the next million years or so. Massive Eta Car has even been considered a candidate for a hypernova explosion and the potential source of a future gamma-ray burst.

 

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Even though the picture isn't the best of quality, I still find it awe inspiring.

Am i the only one here who cares about this stuff???? (well, except Wet1)

You're gonna have to give me a link where you get all this information. All the sites I find aren't any good :bugeye:

 

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Here is another picture from days gone by that might be a little more interesting, Thor.

http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7173&highlight=Carinae

 

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I dig it, too, Thor.

I even have a geeky Astrophysicist name tag to put on...

- Warren

 

Wow, that thread started even before I joined. That was really good reading, a little unsettling (with the possibilites of a supernova's effect on us), but it was thoroughly interesting.

Wet1, I salute you

Gees, I wish I knew as much about this stuff as you Wet1, honestly, you're my idol here.

I better start reading those book my mum got me for Christmas a while ago, better late than never I suppose

Keep up the excellent work :thumbsup:

 

Thor: I am curious - what
do you think of this link?

 

Well, my first thought was "I see"

then it was "Hang on"

then it was "cool"

then it was "reply"

then it was "yoink"

Anyway, I've found some of those books, blew away the dust and I'm reading the introduction

 

What's a hypernova explosion? I've never heard the term.

 

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990420.html

 

Thanks for telling me what you think, as I said
I was just curious. To answer your question: no
you are not the only one who cares about this
stuff. I agree - awe-inspiring.

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