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More Images of Eta Carinae
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Chandra X-ray Image of Eta Carinae
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory presents the latest image of Eta Carinae, a mysterious, extremely bright and unstable star located only about 7,500 light years from Earth. The star is thought to be consuming its nuclear fuel at an incredible rate, while quickly drawing closer to its ultimate explosive death.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/GSFC/M.Corcoran et al.)
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Hubble Optical Images of Eta Carinae
A huge, billowing pair of gas and dust clouds is captured in this Hubble telescope picture of the supermassive star Eta Carinae. Even though Eta Carinae is 7,500 light years away, features 10 billion miles across (about the diameter of our solar system) can be distinguished. Eta Carinae suffered a giant outburst about 160 years ago, when it became one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Though the star released as much visible light as a supernova explosion, it survived the outburst. The explosion produced two lobes and a large, thin equatorial disk, all moving outward at about 1.5 million miles per hour.
More information at Hubble
(Credit: NASA/STScI)
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| Eta Carinae with Scale Bar
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Return to Eta Carinae (20 Jun 07)
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