Located in the southern constellation of Carina,
Canopus is the second brightest star
in the night sky.
During the 1840s, astronomers were amazed
when another star quickly brightened to outshine it.
After its Great Eruption, Eta Carinae slowly faded
over the next 50 years.
Eta Carinae, or Eta Car for short,
resides in the vast star-forming region
of the Carina Nebula.
Thousands of stars have formed in this region,
and it contains many hot, bright,
and massive stars.
Eta Car is one of the most massive stars
known in our entire Milky Way galaxy.
The brilliant light of Eta Car would be brighter,
but it is blocked by a small nebula of gas and dust.
In the Great Eruption,
Eta Car expelled over 10% of its mass,
creating the Homunculus Nebula.
Almost two centuries later,
this nebula is still expanding.
This three-dimensional computer model
showcases the hourglass shape of the nebula.
The Great Eruption blasted material
into two opposing lobes.
Massive stars emit abundant amounts
of energetic ultraviolet light.
Some of Eta Car's ultraviolet light
pierces through the Homunculus Nebula.
More distant gas, also expelled from Eta Car,
glows in the emission from hydrogen atoms.
This cloud of X-rays indicates
a high-energy component to Eta Car's eruption.
Motions in the outer layers provide evidence
that Eta Car has had multiple outbursts.
Surpassing all these emissions,
Eta Car shines brightest at infrared wavelengths.
Most of the star's light is absorbed by the Homunculus Nebula
and re-radiated as infrared light.
Eta Car is the brightest source in the night sky at infrared wavelengths.
Observations from NASA's Great Observatories
help understand the dying stages of this massive star.
The Great Eruption and other outbursts
produce structures seen across many wavelengths of light.
Eta Car’s fate is an even greater eruption -
a supernova explosion sometime in the next few million years.