Hubble Space Telescope imaging of Eta Carinae

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Astronomical Journal; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/115898· OSTI ID:5259901

Hester, J J; Westphal, J A; Light, R M; Currie, D G; Groth, E J ^[1]

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1. California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena (United States) Lick Observatory, Santa Cruz, CA (United States) Maryland Univ., College Park (United States) Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

New high spatial resolution observations of the material around Eta Carinae, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field/Planetary Camera, are presented. The star Eta Carinae is one of the most massive and luminous stars in the Galaxy, and has been episodically expelling significant quantities of gas over the last few centuries. The morphology of the bright central nebulosity (the homunculus) indicates that it is a thin shell with very well defined edges, and is clumpy on 0.2 arcsec (about 10 to the 16th cm) scales. An extension to the northeast of the star (NN/NS using Walborn's 1976 nomenclature) appears to be a stellar jet and its associated bow shock. The bow shock is notable for an intriguing series of parallel linear features across its face. The S ridge and the W arc appear to be part of a 'cap' of emission located to the SW and behind the star. Together, the NE jet and the SW cap suggest that the symmetry axis for the system runs NE-SW rather than SE-NW, as previously supposed. Overall, the data indicate that the material around the star may represent an oblate shell with polar blowouts, rather than a bipolar flow. 26 refs.

• OSTI ID: 5259901
• Journal Information: Astronomical Journal; (United States), Journal Name: Astronomical Journal; (United States) Vol. 102; ISSN 0004-6256; ISSN ANJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
GALAXIES
IMAGES
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
MASS
MASS TRANSFER
MILKY WAY
MORPHOLOGY
NEBULAE
PLASMA JETS
RESOLUTION
SHOCK WAVES
SPATIAL RESOLUTION
STARS
STELLAR ACTIVITY
STELLAR WINDS
VARIABLE STARS
WOLF-RAYET STARS