The Chrysalis Opens? Photometry from the Eta Carinae HST Treasury Project, 2002-2006

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dc.creatorMartin, J. C.
dc.creatorDavidson, Kris
dc.creatorKoppelman, M. D.
dc.date2006-09-11
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T11:26:01Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T11:26:01Z
dc.descriptionDuring the past decade Eta Car has brightened markedly, possibly indicating a change of state. Here we summarize photometry gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the HST Treasury Project on this object. Our data include STIS/CCD acquisition images, ACS/HRC images in four filters, and synthetic photometry in flux-calibrated STIS spectra. The HST's spatial resolution allows us to examine the central star separate from the bright circumstellar ejecta. Its apparent brightness continued to increase briskly during 2002--06, especially after the mid-2003 spectroscopic event. If this trend continues, the central star will soon become brighter than its ejecta, quite different from the state that existed only a few years ago. One precedent may be the rapid change observed in 1938--1953. We conjecture that the star's mass-loss rate has been decreasing throughout the past century.
dc.descriptionAccepted for publication in AJ. 31 pages including: 6 Figures and 5 Tables
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609295
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609295
dc.identifierAstron.J.132:2717-2728,2006
dc.identifierdoi:10.1086/508933
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/195691
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleThe Chrysalis Opens? Photometry from the Eta Carinae HST Treasury Project, 2002-2006
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