Credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/GSFC/M. Corcoran et al.; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk (SAO/CXC)

A Chandra data time-lapse sequence of Eta Carinae with frames from 1999, 2003, 2009, 2014, and 2020 — along with observations from ESA’s XMM-Newton — allows astronomers to watch as the stellar eruption continues to expand into space at speeds up to 4.5 million miles per hour. The "Great Eruption," seen on Earth in the 19th century, produced a dense pair of spherical gas clouds now called the Homunculus Nebula on opposite sides of the system’s two stars. The Homunculus is clearly seen in a composite image of the Chandra data (orange) with optical light from the Hubble Space Telescope (blue, purple, and white).

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2023/etacar/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html