NASA Releases Epic New 3D Animation About Eta Carinae’s Famous Great Eruption of 1843

Eta Carinae was once one of the brightest stars in the night sky — a light that seafarers would use as a guide along with the North Star. Then, in the mid-19th century, it seemed to suddenly disappear after one of the most famous violent outbursts in astronomy, the Great Eruption of 1843, which released much visible light across the sky. with a supernova.

Scientists have now used images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory to create a sharp detailed 3D model of how the Eta Carinae eruption unfolded. That’s more than 7,500 light years away. Although Eta Carinae survived the explosion, it ejected dense clouds of gas and matter that formed the hourglass-shaped Homunculus Nebula. Using data collected over a number of different wavelengths, the new model is a dazzling tour of the vivid nebula.

Besides acting as an eye candy, the new model helps scientists better understand the evolution of large, bright stars like Eta Carinae and the violent transitions they make into new stages in life. Eventually, Eta Carinae will collapse into a black hole (possibly after a more formal supernova). We’ll be dead long before we can witness it, but modern astronomers are doing all they can to predict what such an event might look like to spectators. future stars.