Now for release I most looked forward to:
Eta Carinae's Change of State as Seen by Hubble from 1998 to 2021
Kris Davidson, University of Minnesota
Eta Car failed to go SN in the past but will likely go boom in the future. AND it’s only 7500ly away.
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Eta Carinae's Change of State as Seen by Hubble from 1998 to 2021
Kris Davidson, University of Minnesota
Eta Car failed to go SN in the past but will likely go boom in the future. AND it’s only 7500ly away.
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Davidson reminds us at #AAS238 presser that Eta Car was one of the brightest stars in the sky… until it wasn’t. In 1800s there was a great eruption but then the star fadded away… only to slowly rebrighten again. It continues to work its way back to bright.
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Eta Car is actually 2 stars: a giant & a companion. They orbit every 5.5 yr & have a highly elliptical orbit that causes them to get much closer every 5.5 years. In the past, during this close passing, massive star dumped so much matter on companion it blocked UV.
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Past behavior does not always predict future behavior, and Eta Car changed behavior in 2014, and instead of massive mass outflow, had normal wind - No UV (technically EUV) blocking.
How we see Eta Car is about to wildly change as mass flow slows.
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How we see Eta Car is about to wildly change as mass flow slows.
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According to Davidson, “Near-furture views of Eta Car: 3 yrs ago, the Homunculus Ejecta-Nebula was 10x brighter than the central star.
“Today the star is brighter than the nebula. It will get about 1 mag brighter, & it will ionize the homunculus nebula.”
Bye bye nebula.
Fini/
“Today the star is brighter than the nebula. It will get about 1 mag brighter, & it will ionize the homunculus nebula.”
Bye bye nebula.
Fini/
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