Highest resolution image of Eta Carinae star system gives astronomers new insights!

Eta Carinae's great eruption in the 1840s. (image courtesy: NASA/ESA/Hubble SM4 ERO Team)

New Delhi: Stars are fascinating, not just to us, but to astronomers and scientists too. From their birth to their structure, every thing is pretty much enticing, so much so, that they are always a subject of curiosity.

Now, with the help of the Very Large Telescope, astronomers managed to capture a high-resolution image of the Eta Carinae star system.

The image was rendered in high-resolution, thanks to which, the team of astronomers could discover details and structures that were till now, unknown to mankind.

Structures from the binary system were found, specifically the area between the stars where high-velocity winds are colliding as observed from the image.

Experts say that the latest discovery will help scientists better understand the formation of massive stars, according to a report in Nature World News.

The Eta Carinae star system can be found inside the Carina Nebula. Gerd Weigelt of Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy led the team that is at present analyzing the image.

Two massive stars contribute to the composition of the Eta Carinae, making it a binary system. The two stars can produce winds with a velocity of up to ten millions kilometers per hour.

The space between the massive stars is the spot were turbulent collisions happen. This area couldn't be observed before, but thanks to modern advancement in technology, the formerly invisible and unreachable area can now be explored.

As per the report in Nature World News, in order to delve deeper into the Eta Carinae, the team of astronomers maximized the capabilities of the Very Large Telescope and its instrument called AMBER to peek deeper into the violent region of the binary star system for the first time. In order to do this, other equipment such as the interferometer was also used.