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Eta Carinae:
Shocking Detail of Superstar's Activity Revealed
Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
Shocking Detail of Superstar's Activity Revealed
Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
Eta Carinae is the most luminous star known in our galaxy. It radiates energy at a rate that is 5 million times that of the Sun. Observations indicate that Eta Carinae is an unstable star that is rapidly boiling matter off its surface. Some astronomers think that it could explode as a supernova any time! At a distance of 7,000 light years from Earth, this gigantic explosion would pose no threat to life but it would be quite a show.
| Multi-wavelength Images: (*Images not to scale) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
X-ray
 NASA/CXC/SAOJpg (50 k) Tiff (3.5 M) PS (1.6 M) |
Optical
 NASA/HST/J. Morse/K. Davidson JPG (252 k) Tiff (4.4 M) PS (3.4 M) |
Infrared E. Polomski, U. Florida/CTIO
Jpg (78 k) Tiff (1.8 M) PS (1.0 M) |
Radio ATCA(S. White el al) Jpg (25 k) Tiff (869 k) PS (3.4 M) |
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Revised: February 18, 2010