Astronomy Picture of the Day
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
professional astronomer.
2019 February 20
[2]
Doomed Star Eta Carinae
Image Credit: NASA [3] , ESA [4] , Hubble [5] ; Processing & License [6] :
Judy Schmidt [7]
Explanation: Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it
may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae [8] 's
mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun [9] - makes it an excellent
candidate for a full blown supernova [10] . Historical records do show that
about 170 years ago Eta Carinae [11] underwent an unusual outburst that made
it one of the brightest stars [12] in the southern sky [13] . Eta Carinae
[14] , in the Keyhole Nebula [15] , is the only star [16] currently thought
to emit natural LASER light [17] . This featured image [18] brings out
details in the unusual nebula [19] that surrounds this rogue star [20] .
Diffraction spikes [21] , caused by the telescope, are visible as bright
multi-colored streaks emanating from Eta Carinae's center. Two distinct lobes
of the Homunculus Nebula [22] encompass the hot central region [23] , while
some strange radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the image
right. The lobes are filled [24] with lanes of gas and dust [25] which absorb
the blue and ultraviolet light [26] emitted near the center. The streaks,
however, remain unexplained [27] .
Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [39] (MTU [40] ) & Jerry Bonnell [41]
(UMCP [42] )
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [43] .
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [44]
A service of: ASD [45] at NASA [46] / GSFC [47]
& Michigan Tech. U. [48]
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Site notes:
[1] archivepix.html
[2] image/1902/EtaCarinae_HubbleSchmidt_1764.jpg
[3] https://www.nasa.gov/
[4] http://www.esa.int/
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/mai...
[6] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
[7] http://geckzilla.com/
[8] ap991011.html
[9] sun.html
[10] https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects...
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae
[12] http://www.astro.wisc.edu/%7Edolan/constellat...
[13] ap000618.html
[14] http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/etacar.html
[15] ap160814.html
[16] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaBxMo4b74g
[17] ap971129.html
[18] https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/32019...
[19] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpnhCEqcRvY
[20] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997ARA%26A..35...
[21] ap010415.html
[22] ap140717.html
[23] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995ApJ...445L....
[24] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?featur...
[25] ap030706.html
[26] https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwa...
[27]
http://en.bcdn.biz/Images/2016/6/22/2617d6e7-...
[28] ap190219.html
[29] archivepix.html
[30] lib/apsubmit2015.html
[31] lib/aptree.html
[32] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
[33] calendar/allyears.html
[34] /apod.rss
[35] lib/edlinks.html
[36] lib/about_apod.html
[37] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
[38] ap190221.html
[39] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
[40] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
[41] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
[42] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
[43] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
[44] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
[45] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
[46] https://www.nasa.gov/
[47] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
[48] http://www.mtu.edu/
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