© STScI, Jon Morse.
HST WFPC2 Image of Eta Carinae:
The Homunculus Nebula was ejected in the 1840s and is expanding at 700 km/s. Today the major axis is about 20 arc seconds across. This spectacular HST image reveals the complex nature of the Homunculus and filamentary. The light from the central star is reduced by a factor of 100 at visual wavelengths due to dust absorption and scattering. Without this absorption, the nebula and other phenomena would not be so spectacular.