News Space

Parting Eta Carinae’s clouds reveals more clouds

New images show star system's inner beauty

By Lisa Grossman

- More than 2 years ago

WASHINGTON—A new view of Eta Carinae, a nearby star system that is expected to explode as a supernova sometime in the next 10,000 years or so, reveals for the first time clouds of gas that were expelled by one of its stars.

A new image of the star system Eta Carinae shows a secondary layer of gas and dust beneath the outer nebula (circled in red). Credit: Gemini Observatory
THE CLOUDS INSIDE A new image of the star system Eta Carinae shows a secondary layer of gas and dust beneath the outer nebula (circled in red).