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| Source: Technology Review |
Topics: 3D Printing, Astrophysics, Computational Physics, NASA
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: In 1843, a relatively unknown star in the constellation of Carina in the southern hemisphere suddenly erupted becoming the second brightest star in the sky after Sirius. This object, called Eta Carinae, gradually decreased in brightness until it faded from view entirely some 40 years later. Since then, it has varied in brightness in a rough a five-year cycle.
Eta Carinae is curious because this variation in brightness occurs over a wide range of wavelengths and timescales. In 1998, for example, it suddenly flared up and doubled in brightness.
The explosion in the 1840s left Eta Carinae surrounded by a spectacular cloud of dust known as the Homunculus Nebula. Astronomers have long known that this eruption did not destroy the star involved, which they thought must sit at the center of this cloud.
About 10 years ago, however, they discovered that this cloud contains two stars in a highly elliptical five-year orbit. This orbit, they decided, must be the cause of the periodic changes in brightness.
But exactly why Eta Carinae is so variable over such a wide range of wavelengths is something of a mystery. Today, Thomas Madura from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a few pals provide a detailed insight into the nature of the star system using supercomputer simulations of the way they interact.
Physics arXiv:
3D Printing Meets Computational Astrophysics: Deciphering the Structure of Eta Carinae's Inner Colliding Winds
Thomas I. Madura, Nicola Clementel, Theodore R. Gull, Chael J.H. Kruip, Jan-Pieter Paardekooper
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