What is Eta Carinae?
[[File:EtaCarinae.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Hubble Space Telescope]] image showing Eta Carinae and the bipolar [[Homunculus nebula]] which surrounds the star. The Homunculus was formed in an eruption of Eta Carinae, the light from which reached Earth in 1843. Eta Carinae itself appears as the white patch near the center of the image, where the two lobes of the Homunculus touch.]] [[File:Carina Nebula.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An image of the Carina Nebula taken by the [[European Southern Observatory]]'s [[Very Large Telescope]] (Ultra high image available by clicking)]] [[File:ECARmulticolor4.tnl.jpg|thumb|300px| Eta Carinae has a superstar at its center, as seen in this image from [[Chandra X-ray Observatory|Chandra]]. The new X-ray observation shows three distinct structures: an outer, horseshoe-shaped ring about 2 light years in diameter, a hot inner core about 3 light-months in diameter, and a hot central source less than 1 light-month in diameter which may contain the superstar that is responsible for the Homunculus nebula. The outer ring provides evidence of another large explosion that occurred over 1,000 years ago. Credit: Chandra Science Center and [[NASA]]]] '''Eta Carinae''' (η Carinae or η Car) is a superbright [[hypergiant]] star in the [[constellation]] [[Carina (constellation)|Carina]], about 7,500 to 8,000 [[light-year]]s from the [[Sun]]. The system contains at least two stars, of which the primary is a [[luminous blue variable]] (LBV) that initially had around 150 solar masses, of which it has lost at least 30. A hot [[supergiant]] of about 30 solar masses is in orbit around the primary. An enormous thick red [[nebula]] surrounding Eta Carinae makes it impossible to see this companion optically, but the dumbell-shaped gas cloud is formed by two stars.<ref>Rincon, Paul 2019. The best space images of 2019. ''BBC News'' Science & Environment. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50765663]</ref> The Eta Carinae system is inside the [[Homunculus nebula]], itself part of the much larger [[Ca