Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2000-12-20
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
12 pages, 7 figures, A&A in press, same paper with images at full resolution available from http://www.ita.uni-heidelberg.de
Scientific paper
10.1051/0004-6361:20000460
The Luminous Blue Variable star Eta Carinae is one of the most massive stars known. It underwent a giant eruption in 1843 in which the Homunculus nebula was created. ROSAT and ASCA data indicate the existence of a hard and a soft X-ray component which appear to be spatially distinct: a softer diffuse shell of the nebula around Eta Carinae and a harder point-like source centered on the star Eta Car. Astonishingly the morphology of the X-ray emission is very different from the optical appearance of the nebula. We present a comparative analysis of optical morphology, the kinematics, and the diffuse soft X-ray structure of the nebula around Eta Carinae. Our kinematic analysis of the nebula shows extremely high expansion velocities. We find a strong correlation between the X-ray emission and the knots in the nebula and the largest velocities, i.e. the X-ray morphology of the nebula around Eta Carinae is determined by the interaction between material streaming away from Eta Car and the ambient medium.
Bomans Dominik J.
Duschl Wolfgang J.
Weis Kerstin
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