Lasers in Eta Carinae
Explanation:
Have you heard about the great
LASER light show in the sky?
A team led by K. Davidson
(
U. Michigan)
and S. Johansson
(
U. Lund)
discovered that the chaotically variable star
Eta Carinae emits
ultraviolet light in such a narrow band
that it is most probably LASER light!
This
artist's
vision depicts a model that could account for their
Hubble Space Telescope observations.
In this model,
Eta Carinae emits many
LASER
beams from its surrounding cloud of energized gas.
Infrared LASERS and
microwave
MASERS
are extremely rare astrophysical phenomena, but this
natural ultraviolet LASER is the first of its kind to be discovered.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
