42-Hubble’s Inside The Image: Eta Carinae

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken over 1.5 million observations over the years. One of them is the breathtaking image of Eta Carinae.

Eta Carinae was the site of a giant outburst about 150 years ago, when it became one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Though the star released as much visible light as a supernova explosion, it survived the outburst. Somehow, the explosion produced two polar lobes and a large thin equatorial disk, all moving outward at about 1.5 million miles per hour.

In this video, Dr. Keith Noll explains this breathtaking image and explains how important Hubble is to exploring the mysteries of the universe.