Is Eta Carinae Heading Toward Another Eruption?

(Before It's News)

Eta Carinae as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Image Credit: ESA / NASA

Massive stars can devastate their surroundings, unleashing hot winds and blasting radiation. With a mass over 100 times heavier than the Sun and a luminosity a million times brighter than the Sun, Eta Carinae clocks in as one of the biggest and brightest stars in our galaxy.

The enigmatic object walks a thin line between stellar stability and tumultuous explosions. But now a team of international astronomers is growing concerned that it’s leaning toward instability and eruption.

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© Shannon Hall for Universe Today, 2014. |
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Post tags: eta Carinae, Hubble Space Telescope, stellar evolution, Supernovae

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