Eta Carinae is a stellar system of at least two stars with a combined luminosity over five million times that of the Sun, around 7500 light- years distant in the constellation Carina. First recorded as a 4th- magnitude star, it brightened considerably beginning in 1837 in an event known as the Great Eruption, becoming the second-brightest star in the sky between 11 and 14 March 1843 before fading well below naked eye visibility. It has been getting brighter again since about 1940, peaking above magnitude 4.5 in 2014. Eta Carinae is always above the horizon south of latitude 30°S, and never visible north of about latitude 30°N. The two main stars of the system orbit each other with a period of 5.54 years. The primary is a peculiar star similar to a luminous blue variable, initially 150–250 times as massive as the Sun but now at least 30 solar masses lighter, and is expected to eventually explode as a supernova. The secondary star is hot and also highly luminous, around 30–80 times as massive as the Sun. The system is heavily obscured by the Homunculus Nebula, material ejected from the primary during the Great Eruption.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
538:
Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths, ended his siege of Rome, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Rome_(537%E2%80%9338)
1881:
Andrew Watson made his debut with the Scotland national football team and became the world's first black international footballer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Watson_(footballer,_born_1856)
1913:
The future capital of Australia was officially named Canberra during a ceremony officiated by Gertrude, Lady Denman, the wife of Governor-General Lord Denman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra
1947:
Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine to help stem the spread of Communism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Doctrine
1952:
British diplomat Hastings Ismay was appointed as the first Secretary General of NATO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Ismay,_1st_Baron_Ismay
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
apple of Sodom: 1. (medieval mythology) A gigantic tree supposed to have grown on the site of the destroyed cities Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18–19 in the Bible), the apples of which would turn to ash and smoke once picked. 2. (botany) The names of various plants, often bearing bitter or poisonous fruit. […] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apple_of_Sodom
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
One must let the play happen to one; one must let the mind loose to respond as it will, to receive impressions, to sense rather than know, to gather rather than immediately understand. --Edward Albee https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Albee