命中注定的海山二

Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when – it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae’s mass – about 100 times greater than our Sun – makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 170 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural LASER light.

This featured image brings out details in the unusual nebula that surrounds this rogue star. Diffraction spikes, caused by the telescope, are visible as bright multi-colored streaks emanating from Eta Carinae’s center. Two distinct lobes of the Homunculus Nebula encompass the hot central region, while some strange radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the image right. The lobes are filled with lanes of gas and dust which absorb the blue and ultraviolet light emitted near the center. The streaks, however, remain unexplained.

NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt

海山二可能就要爆炸了。但没人知道是什么时候——可能是明年，也可能是一百万年后。海山二的质量大约是太阳的100倍，这使它成为一颗全面爆发的超新星的绝佳候选者。历史记录显示，大约170年前，海山二经历了一次不寻常的爆发，使它成为南天最亮的恒星之一。位于锁孔星云中的海山二是目前唯一一颗被认为能发出自然激光的恒星。

这张特写图片展示了围绕着这颗流氓恒星的不寻常星云的细节。由望远镜造成的衍射尖峰可以看到从海山二中心发出的明亮的多色条纹。侏儒星云的两个明显的裂片环包围着炽热的中心区域，同时一些奇怪的红色放射状条纹向影像右侧延伸。这些裂片中充满了气体和尘埃，它们吸收了中心附近发出的蓝光和紫外光。然而，这些条纹仍然无法解释。

影像来源: NASA, ESA, Hubble; 影像处理及授权: Judy Schmidt