Publications (12)
The CHANDRA HETGS X-ray Grating Spectrum of Eta Car
M. F. Corcoran, J. H. Swank, R. Petre +7
Eta Car may be the most massive and luminous star in the Galaxy and is suspected to be a massive, colliding wind binary system. The CHANDRA X-ray observatory has obtained a calibra…
Dissecting a SN impostor's circumstellar medium: MUSEing about the SHAPE of eta Car's outer ejecta
A. Mehner, W. Steffen, J. H. Groh +10
Aims. The structural inhomogeneities and kinematics of massive star nebulae are tracers of their mass-loss history. We conduct a three-dimensional morpho-kinematic analysis of the…
Waiting in the Wings: Reflected X-ray Emission from the Homunculus Nebula
M. F. Corcoran, K. Hamaguchi, T. Gull +14
We report the first detection of X-ray emission associated with the Homunculus Nebula which surrounds the supermassive star Eta Carinae. The emission is characterized by a temperat…
Variable Unidentified Emission Near 6307 AA in Eta Carinae
J. C. Martin, K. Davidson, F. Hamann +2
We have discovered a conspicuous unidentified variable feature near 6307 AA in the spectrum of Eta Carinae which is spatially unresolved from the central star and its wind (r < 200…
A Change in the Physical State of Carinae?
K. Davidson, J. C. Martin, R. M. Humphreys +8
During Car's spectroscopic event in mid-2003, the stellar wind's bright H and H emission lines temporarily had a distinctive shape unlike that reported on any previous…
Eta Carinae's 2014.6 Spectroscopic Event: Clues to the Long-term Recovery from its Great Eruption
A. Mehner, K. Davidson, R. M. Humphreys +9
Aims. Every 5.5 years eta Car's light curve and spectrum change remarkably across all observed wavelength bands. We compare the recent spectroscopic event in mid-2014 to the events…
The Unusual Temporal and Spectral Evolution of the Type IIn Supernova 2011ht
P. W. A. Roming, T. A. Pritchard, J. L. Prieto +17
We present very early UV to optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the peculiar Type IIn supernova (SN) 2011ht in UGC 5460. The UV observations of the rise to peak a…
XMM-Newton Observations of the 2003 X-ray Minimum of Eta Carinae
K. Hamaguchi, M. F. Corcoran, T. Gull +3
The XMM-Newton X-ray observatory took part in the multi-wavelength observing campaign of the massive, evolved star Eta Carinae in 2003 during its recent X-ray minimum. This paper r…
Preliminary Analysis of STIS-HST Spectra of Compact Ejecta from Eta Carinae
F. Hamann, K. Davidson, K. Ishibashi +1
We describe some preliminary results from spatially-resolved spectroscopy of the compact ejection knots B and D in the Eta Carinae wind. We emphasize various line diagnostics of th…
On the He II Emission In Eta Carinae and the Origin of Its Spectroscopic Events
J. C. Martin, K. Davidson, R. M. Humphreys +2
We describe and analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of transient emission near 4680 Ã in Eta Car, reported earlier by Steiner & Damineli (2004). If, as seems probable…
Constraints on the Surface Magnetic Fields and Age of a Cool Hypergiant: XMM-Newton X-ray Observations of VY CMa
R. Montez, J. H. Kastner, R. M. Humphreys +2
The complex circumstellar ejecta of highly evolved, cool hypergiants are indicative of multiple, asymmetric mass loss events. To explore whether such episodic, non-isotropic mass l…
X-ray Gyrations of Eta Carinae, or, Is Presence of Evidence Evidence of Presence?
M. F. Corcoran, K. Hamaguchi, T. Gull +2
We review the properties of the variable X-ray emission from the extremely massive star Eta Carinae concentrating on the last X-ray minimum, and briefly consider the possible role…