| Themes > Science > Astronomy > The Stars > Kinds of Stars > The Strange Case of Eta Carinae |
As part of our discussion of supernovae, we consider the strange case of the supermassive and violently unstable star Eta Carinae. This star is about 150 times more massive than the Sun, which places in near the upper limit of how massive we think a star can be. Because of its large mass it produces energy at a rate of about 4 million times that of the Sun. The adjacent image (Ref) shows a nebula larger than the Solar System that was ejected in a violent outburst in 1841. For a time, this outburst made Eta Carinae the second brightest star in the sky. |
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