ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Space

Blink, and you might miss the brightest stars in our neighborhood blowing up

It's going to be one heck of a show once it happens.

Dragos MitricabyDragos Mitrica
October 19, 2016
in News, Space
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

RelatedPosts

Face of the dollar: the story of Peter the Mint Eagle
We need a simpler way to talk about climate change
NASA wants to celebrate its 100-year-anniversary — with you!
Our globalized diets are hurting biodiversity and our health
Carina Nebula (left), home of the Eta Carinae binary system. In the middle, we can see the Homunculus Nebula which is the child of Eta Carinae being created from ejected material. The right images shows the innermost part of the system.  Credit:  ESO/G. Weigelt
Carina Nebula (left), home of the Eta Carinae binary system. In the middle, we can see the Homunculus Nebula which is the child of Eta Carinae being created from ejected material. The right images shows the innermost part of the system. Credit: ESO/G. Weigelt

Eta Carinae is a binary star system that’s often called the heavyweight champion of our galaxy. That’s because the two stars, which are 90 times and 30 times more massive than the sun, respectively, shine with the power equivalent to five million suns.

Between the two stars, enormous physical forces are exerted which heat up space and propel solar winds all over the galaxy at tremendous speeds. Case in point, in 1843 Eta Carinae became the brightest star in the southern sky following a series of eruptions. Nothing but superlatives can describe this titanic system and thanks to the combined efforts of four large telescopes we now have the sharpest image of Eta Carinae and the nebula surrounding it.

To make the images, the international team of researchers from Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy (MPIfR) in Germany, Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, and NASA in the USA, used interferometry. The technique involved combining the infrared light of Eta Carinae by  European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes to obtain extremely sharp images which would have been very hard to make otherwise. The final images are equivalent to those taken by a giant 130-metre telescope.

Three of the 1.8-metre telescopes of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Credit: Gerd Weigelt.
Three of the 1.8-metre telescopes of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Credit: Gerd Weigelt.

“These are unprecedented images obtained with the ESO telescopes. We were able to zoom in and see the heavyweight champion in our Galaxy like never before. The images provide us with a front-row view of how monster stars interact with each other. The heavier star is winning for now, but the faster companion star may change the fate of the system in the future,” said Jose Groh, who is a Professor of Astrophysics at Trinity College Dublin.

Besides unprecedented glimpses into the heart of Eta Carinae and the Homunculus nebula which surrounds it, the latest findings add further weight to the binary system’s reputation. As the two giant stars circle each other, solar winds collide violently a speed of 10,000,000 km/h. These sort of violent outflowing winds are typical of dying stars which are ready to go out with a bang by becoming supernovae.

Who knows, it might have already happened since the binary system is 7,500 light-years away. The impending flash of light that will brighten the night’s sky might reach us later in a thousand years, next month or a couple of minutes from now.

One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be one heck of a show once it happens.

“Our dreams came true, because we can now get extremely sharp images in the infrared regime. The ESO interferometer provides us with a unique opportunity to improve our physical understanding of Eta Carinae and many other monster objects,” said the researchers who published their work in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. 

ShareTweetShare
Dragos Mitrica

Dragos Mitrica

Dragos has been working in geology for six years, and loving every minute of it. Now, his more recent focus is on paleoclimate and climatic evolution, though in his spare time, he also dedicates a lot of time to chaos theory and complex systems.

Related Posts

Health

Tennis May Add Nearly 10 Years to Your Life and Most People Are Ignoring It

byTibi Puiu
1 day ago
Anthropology

Humans Have Been Reshaping Earth with Fire for at Least 50,000 Years

byTudor Tarita
1 day ago
Biology

The Strangest Microbe Ever Found Straddles The Line Between Life and Non-Life

byTudor Tarita
1 day ago
News

This $8750 Watch Was Designed for Space and Could Finally Replace Apollo-era Omega Watches

byTudor Tarita
1 day ago

Recent news

Tennis May Add Nearly 10 Years to Your Life and Most People Are Ignoring It

July 4, 2025

Humans Have Been Reshaping Earth with Fire for at Least 50,000 Years

July 4, 2025

The Strangest Microbe Ever Found Straddles The Line Between Life and Non-Life

July 4, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.