Eta Car does its thing

By Michael on October 27, 2008 at 4:15 pm | In Blog Posts | 2 Comments


Eta Carinae is one of the most interesting stars that we know of. It has an annual a recurring “event” that occurs every 5.5 years and it just happens to be occurring right now. A lot is known about the event but much mystery remains. We know that there is an x-ray “eclipse” and that the period is probably related to a binary companion. The spectra also changes markedly during the event. But because the star is so massive and hot, the solar wind is so intense that detailed, resolved spectroscopy of the central star(s) is impossible. The wind smears the lines out.

I could go on and on about Eta Car. It’s a fascinating system and one of the likely candidates for a nearby supernova in our lifetimes. For more info, a great place to start is the HST Treasury Program on Eta Carinae.


2 Comments »

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  1. When I saw the title of this post, I thought, “It went supernova????” I didn’t know about this recurring event. You learn something new every day. I’d put the quote marks around the “annual”.

    The 5.5 year cycle is discussed here at the site Michael suggested.

    Comment by bethkatz17582 — October 28, 2008 #

  2. Thanks, you’re right “annual” is the wrong word! :)

    Comment by michael — October 28, 2008 #

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