Publications
of the
MPIfR Optical & Infrared Interferometry Group

K. Weis

Strings, jets and shocks in eta Carinae's ejecta

Astronomische Gesellschaft Abstract Series (AGM 19, P43)
Der kosmische Materiekreislauf
Annual Scientific Meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, Sep 23-28, 2002, Berlin, Germany

Abstract

For understanding the evolution of the most massive stars, the object Eta Carinae plays a key role. The star or at least one of the two, if it is indeed a binary system is extremely luminous and unstable. During its presently ongoing LBV phase the mass loss increased dramatically and the stars underwent a giant eruption around 1843, an energetic event in which ~ 3 Msun were ejected. Nowadays a perfectly bipolar nebula surrounds Eta Carinae which consists of an inner region, the Homunculus, and the outer ejecta. The expansion velocities are as high as several thousand km/s and give rise to X-ray emission. Among the most fascinating features within the nebula are highly collimated, narrow structures known as Strings. I will present high-resolution HST-STIS spectra of theses Strings and discuss in detail their kinematics and physical structure. These results will be compared to the X-ray emission and global structure of the nebula.