National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Chandra X-ray image shows the complex nature of the region around Eta Carinae, a massive supergiant star that is 7,500 light years from Earth. The outer horseshoe shaped ring has a temperature of about 3 million degrees Kelvin. It is about two light years in diameter and was probably caused by an outburst that occurred more than a thousand years ago. The blue cloud in the inner core is three light months in diameter and is much hotter; the white area inside the blue cloud is the hottest and may contain the superstar which is vigorously blowing matter off its surface. Chandra X-ray Observatory

Click here for a jpg version

IMAGES | By Mission | Stars | Cataclysmic Variables | X-ray Binaries | Pulsars | Supernova Remnants & Planetary Nebulae | Galaxies | Active Galactic Nuclei | Clusters and Groups of Galaxies | X-ray/gamma-ray Background & Deep Fields | Solar System Objects | Gamma Ray Bursts