JGeropoulas
The Living Force
Below is one of several awe-inspiring photographs featured in National Geographic's current issue in an article entitled, "Cosmic Explosion." The article is quite interesting and includes computer-generated images (resembling Peter Maxx artwork) of what's happening in the core of a supernova in the first few seconds.
The text states that "...gravitational waves--ripples in the fabric of space and time...should be produced whenever immense masses shake and twist, as they do in the core of a supernova...Eta Carinae, a star a hundred times more massive than the sun, seethes between enormous clouds of gas and dust in this composite image. Some 8,000 light-years away, the star is on the verge of going supernova, but astronomers can't predict when."
Wikepedia Info:
Eta Carinae is the fifth most luminous star yet discovered, shining four million times brighter than our Sun. Eta Carinae is a luminous blue variable (LBV) star located in the constellation Carina. LBV stars are extraordinarily rare and are thought to approach the theoretical upper limit of stellar mass.
This star is surrounded by a large, bright nebula, known as the Eta Carinae Nebula (the Keyhole Nebula). The nebula contains multiple O-type stars, which are very hot and very luminous, being bluish in colour (most of their output is in the ultraviolet range). These are the rarest of all main sequence stars, constituting as few as 1 in 32,000.
The text states that "...gravitational waves--ripples in the fabric of space and time...should be produced whenever immense masses shake and twist, as they do in the core of a supernova...Eta Carinae, a star a hundred times more massive than the sun, seethes between enormous clouds of gas and dust in this composite image. Some 8,000 light-years away, the star is on the verge of going supernova, but astronomers can't predict when."
Wikepedia Info:
Eta Carinae is the fifth most luminous star yet discovered, shining four million times brighter than our Sun. Eta Carinae is a luminous blue variable (LBV) star located in the constellation Carina. LBV stars are extraordinarily rare and are thought to approach the theoretical upper limit of stellar mass.
This star is surrounded by a large, bright nebula, known as the Eta Carinae Nebula (the Keyhole Nebula). The nebula contains multiple O-type stars, which are very hot and very luminous, being bluish in colour (most of their output is in the ultraviolet range). These are the rarest of all main sequence stars, constituting as few as 1 in 32,000.