In about 1845, Astronomers observed a giant outburst from Eta Carinae. It became one of the brightest stars in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere.  The star released visible light in an amount equal to a supernova,   however, unlike a supernova, this star survived the explosion.  Today Eta Carinae has two polar lobes with a large thin equatorial disk, all moving outward a about 1.5 million miles per hour.    100 times more massive that our own Sun, it may still be one of the most massive stars in our galaxy.  Radiating 5 million times more power than our Sun, the star remains one of the greatest mysteries of stellar astronomy.

Beginning in 1995 the Hubble Space Telescope has been making observations of Eta Carinae.   However, instead of solving the enigma of the star it has given rise to further puzzles.  New observations show us that excessive amounts of violet light are escaping the equatorial plane between the bipolar lobes.   Relatively little dust appears between the lobs, down by the star, which allows most of the blue light to escape.   The lobes, on the other hand, contain large amounts of dust which preferentially absorb blue light, causing the lobes to appear reddish.

Eta Carinae's outburst may provide unique to other more modest stellar bipolar explosions and the hydra dynamic flows from stars in general.
 

Press Release:  06/10/96   PRC96-23

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