Maelstrom within the Carina Nebula (Bruce Rohrlach)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Carina (Car)

Maelstrom within the Carina Nebula, Bruce Rohrlach

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Maelstrom within the Carina Nebula

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

Powered byPixInsight

Maelstrom within the Carina Nebula

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

A close-up of the maelstrom within the Carina Nebula.

The hypergiant binary star system Eta Carinae shines brightest, with its cross-like orange diffraction spikes generated by the vanes on the telescope that hold the secondary mirror in place. Eta Carinae is an LBV star (luminous blue variable) which is consuming its fuel at a prodigeous rate, is expected to explode as a supernova within the next million years, and is one of the most studied stars of its class. It regularly has convulsive outbursts as it sheds it's outer layers, the last major eruptive event occuring over an 18 year period from 1837, when it was observed to suddenly outshine the star Rigel, and in 1838 when it outshone Alpha Centauri. Other eruptive phases associated with sudden brightening of Eta Carinae occurred in 1887-1892, 1953 and 1998-1999.

Eta Carinae is enclosed by and lights up the Homunculus nebula, a reflection nebula from gas ejected during the mid-19th century outburst, with two polar lobes. The Keyhole nebula is the dark nebulosity superimposed on the brightest part of the nebula (oriented at 45 degrees here, just below Eta Carinae). Two star clusters (Trumpler 14 and 16) are also seen here, as well as good discrimination between numerous very hot blue stars and myriads of cooler yellow stars of all sizes.

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Maelstrom within the Carina Nebula

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