New astronomical visualization explores supermassive star Eta Carinae's outburst

Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae is famous for a brilliant and unusual outburst, called the "Great Eruption," observed in the 1840s that made it the second-brightest star in the sky.

Astronomers have created a 3D visualization of Eta Carinae, a supermassive star that underwent an eruption about 150 years ago. The new model, based on multi-wavelength observations using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, provides more information about the outbursts of the supermassive star in our Milky Way galaxy.

Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae is famous for a brilliant and unusual outburst, called the "Great Eruption," observed in the 1840s that made it the second-brightest star in the sky. According to NASA, while the star released as much visible light as a supernova explosion, it survived the outburst and slowly faded away for the next five decades.

The new astronomical visualization from NASA's Universe of Learning showcases the multiwavelength emissions (from infrared light through X-rays) and three-dimensional structures surrounding the supermassive violent star.

Using X-ray and ultraviolet images take by Hubble and @chandraxray, a team of astronomers and artists have assembled a three-dimensional look at Eta Carinae, one of the most massive and eruptive stars in our galaxy: https://t.co/qh7qEykXyp pic.twitter.com/19m7HsQZ7D

— Hubble Space Telescope (@HubbleTelescope) January 25, 2022

The visualization was created by a team of astronomers and artists at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland to showcase the hourglass shape of the Homunculus Nebula, a twin-lobed dust-filled cloud formed during the star's eruption, and the clouds of glowing gas encompassing Eta Carinae.

"The team did such an amazing job representing the volumetric layers that viewers can immediately and intuitively comprehend the complex structure around Eta Car. We can not only tell the story of the Great Eruption but also showcase the resulting nebula in 3D," said Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist at STScI and project lead.

You can watch the video, "Eta Carinae: The Great Eruption of a Massive Star" on the NASA Hubble site.