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The Shape of the Homunculus Nebula around η Carinae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

D.A. Allen
Affiliation:
Anglo-Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping NSW 2121
D.J. Hillier
Affiliation:
Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Munich, Germany

Abstract

From extensive spectroscopic observations we derive the three-dimensional structure of the Homunculus Nebula surrounding η Carinae. The analysis shows that the two lobes are hollow and incomplete, and that the gas was ejected at similar epoch. Consequently the distribution of material we see reflects its initial velocity. Using the observed expansion velocity, and the known time of ejection, we derive a distance to η Car of 2.2 ± 0.2 kpc.

Type
Galactic and Stellar
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1993

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