An international team of astronomers has developed a 3D model of a giant cloud ejected by the massive binary system Eta Carinae during its 19th century outburst. Eta Carinae lies about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina and is one of the most massive binary systems astronomers can study in detail. The smaller star is about 30 times the mass of the sun and may be as much as a million times more luminous. The primary star contains about 90 solar masses and emits 5 million times the sun's energy output. Both stars are fated to end their lives in spectacular supernova explosions.
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A
new shape model of the Homunculus Nebula reveals protrusions, trenches,
holes and irregularities in its molecular hydrogen emission. The
protrusions appear near a dust skirt seen at the nebula's center in
visible light (inset) but not found in this study, so they constitute
different structures.
Image Credit:
NASA Goddard (inset: NASA, ESA, Hubble SM4 ERO Team)
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