Researchers at NASA have not only successfully mapped intimate details of the Eta Carinae Homunculus Nebula for the first time, but they even went ahead and 3D printed themselves a model, enabling people to literally hold the results of a massive stellar explosion in their hands.
Binary system Eta Carinae contains one of the most evolved massive stars in the galaxy - a star that could contain about 90 of Earth's Sun. The smaller of the two stars in the system is about 30 times the mass of the Sun and is estimated to be nearly one million times more brilliant.
According to various astronomical experts, this massive binary system, already incredibly bright, grew even brighter in the middle of the 19th century when Eta Carinae experienced an eruption that ejected enough solar mass to make up 10 Suns all on its own. This eruption maintained its shape soon after the outburst, creating what is now called the Eta Carinae Homunculus Nebula.
According to NASA astrophysicist Ted Gull, the space agency first attempted to map out the structure of this fascinating nebula many years ago with the Hubble space telescope. However, at the time, technology was not up for the task, managing only to get a general idea of what the "dusty region" of the nebula looked like.
Even just with this hazy mapping, many experts theorized that the eruption had come from the larger of the two Eta Carinae stars, which is likely in the last stages of its life.
However, new imaging tells a different tale. Thanks to a 2012 collaboration between NASA experts and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, researcher were able to obtain clear 3D imaging of the nebula's structure for the first time.
"Our model indicates that this vast shell of gas and dust has a more complex origin than is generally assumed," Thomas Madura, a member of the study team said in a statement. "For the first time, we see evidence suggesting that intense interactions between the stars in the central binary played a significant role in sculpting the nebula we see today."
According to the researchers, a 3D model of the nebula revealed features that strongly suggest interaction between the system's two stars helped mold the Homunculus - and to gain a firmer grasp of this concept, the researchers 3-D printed themselves a physical model.
"Now anyone with access to a 3-D printer can produce their own version of this incredible object," said Gull.
According to Gull, he most excited about how models such as this, and more to come can even help the blind appreciate astronomical images normally thousands of light years out of reach.
The findings were published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on July 7.
[Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center]
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