2.5 APOD

In this picture you are seeing an expanding nebula. No one is exactly sure what caused this expanding nebula. 170 years ago one of the southern star systems became the second brightest start. years later after ejecting more mass than the sun Etc car faded. This burst created the Homonuculus Nebula. The image we see was taken by Hubble space telescopein 1995, 2001 and 2008. the center is lit by a star. While the regions surrounding the star are expanding gas. the Eta Car still undergoes outbursts. IT mass and volatility make it a supernova candidate sometime in a few million years.