What is ETA Carinae?

ETA Carinae is a remarkable hypergiant binary star located 7,500 to 8,000 light -years from Earth in the constellation Carina, keel. It is one of the most light stars: fourth or third, after LBV 1806-20 (according to some models), CYG OB2-12 and HD 93129A. The Pistol star, once considered the Holy Star in the Galaxy, is actually only thirteenth. Like many other smallest stars, ETA Carinae is a light blue variable (LBV). When the primary star was formed, it could contain up to 200 solar materials, but the more massive the star, the more energy it produces in its core and ejected a substantial part of its outer envelope in the form of solar wind. Because man fusion reactions have speeds that accelerate exponentially because the temperature and density increase linearly, the fusion reactions in the core of the hypergiant star are fast. ETA Carinae has only about 2.6 million years old and can only take another 10,000 - 20,000 years before it explodes as hypernova.

In 1843, Eta Carinae increased tremendously in brightness and after Sirius became the second brightest star in the sky, although Eta Carinae is about a thousand times further. During this time it was the brightest star in the galaxy. This was called "Supern's Imposter event" because it looked like a supernova, but the star survived. This event is often called great eruption. After a great eruption, the star disappeared to become invisible to the naked eye, but in 1999 his brightness unexpectedly doubled, so now you can see again.

Eta Carinaeaje surrounded by a large cloud of gas excluded during a large eruption. Due to its vague similarity to the shape of man is called Homunculus Nebula.