The Star That Blazed and Vanished
In the 1840s, a faint southern star suddenly became the second brightest in the night sky. Then it faded almost to nothing.
What was reported
Eta Carinae is a star in the southern constellation Carina, normally a faint point. In 1837, the astronomer John Herschel, observing from near Cape Town, saw it suddenly brighten. By 1843 it was the second brightest star in the whole sky, after Sirius, and sailors used it to navigate.
Then, over the following years, it faded, until by the 1870s it could no longer be seen without a telescope.
Explanations offered
Eta Carinae is a pair of huge stars, one perhaps a hundred times the mass of the Sun. In the 'Great Eruption' it threw off a vast amount of material, which now surrounds it as a glowing double cloud, the Homunculus. It survived, but why it erupted is still debated, and it may one day explode as a supernova.
- When
- 1837–1858
- Where
- Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
- Witnesses
- The astronomer John Herschel and sailors of the southern seas
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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