Star
Eta Carinae
The brightest and most unstable star in the Milky Way
A binary of two giant stars of roughly 100 and 30 solar masses. In the "Great Eruption" of 1843 it became the second-brightest star in the sky and ejected more than 10 solar masses of material, forming the Homunculus Nebula. It is expected to go supernova in the near (astronomical) future.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Carina |
| Distance | 2,300 pc (7,500 light-years) |
| Luminosity | ~5 million L☉ |
| Mass | ~100 + 30 M☉ |
| Orbital period (binary) | 5.54 years |
| Type | Luminous blue variable (LBV) |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 45m 03.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −59° 41′ 02″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 30° N. South of latitude 30° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 7,502 years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 133 million years.