                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                               2019 February 20
                                      [2]
                           Doomed Star Eta Carinae
  Image Credit: NASA [3] , ESA [4] , Hubble [5] ; Processing & License [6] :
                               Judy Schmidt [7]

Explanation: Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when - it
may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae [8] 's
mass - about 100 times greater than our Sun [9]  - makes it an excellent
candidate for a full blown supernova [10] . Historical records do show that
about 170 years ago Eta Carinae [11]  underwent an unusual outburst that made
it one of the brightest stars [12]  in the southern sky [13] . Eta Carinae
[14] , in the Keyhole Nebula [15] , is the only star [16]  currently thought
to emit natural LASER light [17] . This featured image [18]  brings out
details in the unusual nebula [19]  that surrounds this rogue star [20] .
Diffraction spikes [21] , caused by the telescope, are visible as bright
multi-colored streaks emanating from Eta Carinae's center. Two distinct lobes
of the Homunculus Nebula [22]  encompass the hot central region [23] , while
some strange radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the image
right. The lobes are filled [24] with lanes of gas and dust [25]  which absorb
the blue and ultraviolet light [26]  emitted near the center. The streaks,
however, remain unexplained [27] .

                        Tomorrow's picture: open space

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [39] (MTU [40] ) & Jerry Bonnell [41]
                                  (UMCP [42] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [43] .
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              A service of: ASD [45]  at NASA [46]  / GSFC [47]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [48]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1902/EtaCarinae_HubbleSchmidt_1764.jpg
  [3] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [4] http://www.esa.int/
  [5] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html
  [6] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
  [7] http://geckzilla.com/
  [8] ap991011.html
  [9] sun.html
  [10] https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/supernovae2.html
  [11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae
  [12] http://www.astro.wisc.edu/%7Edolan/constellations/extra/brightest.html
  [13] ap000618.html
  [14] http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/etacar.html
  [15] ap160814.html
  [16] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaBxMo4b74g
  [17] ap971129.html
  [18] https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/32019832757/
  [19] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpnhCEqcRvY
  [20] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997ARA%26A..35....1D
  [21] ap010415.html
  [22] ap140717.html
  [23] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995ApJ...445L.121C
  [24] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7184
  [25] ap030706.html
  [26] https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves
  [27]
http://en.bcdn.biz/Images/2016/6/22/2617d6e7-4f6a-4c46-9020-c3aee00f3c79.jpg
  [28] ap190219.html
  [29] archivepix.html
  [30] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [31] lib/aptree.html
  [32] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [33] calendar/allyears.html
  [34] /apod.rss
  [35] lib/edlinks.html
  [36] lib/about_apod.html
  [37] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190220
  [38] ap190221.html
  [39] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [40] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [41] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [42] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [43] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [44] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [45] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [46] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [47] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [48] http://www.mtu.edu/
