Bipolar emission nebula in the constellation Carina
Homunculus Nebula
Emission nebula
Reflection nebula
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension
10h 45m 03.6s[1]
Declination
−59° 41′ 04″[1]
Distance
7,500 ly
Apparent magnitude (V)
6.21 (-0.8–7.9) (including the central star)
Apparent dimensions (V)
18"[2]
Constellation
Carina
Physical characteristics
Radius
0.29[2] ly
Notable features
Bipolar nebula
See also: Lists of nebulae
The Homunculus Nebula is a bipolar emission and reflection nebula surrounding the massive star system Eta Carinae, about 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs) from Earth. The nebula is embedded within the much larger Carina Nebula, a large star-forming H II region. From the Latin homunculus meaning Little Man, the nebula consists of gas which was ejected from Eta Carinae during the Great Eruption, which occurred ~7,500 years before it was observed on Earth, from 1838 to 1845.[3] It also contains dust which absorbs much of the light from the extremely luminous central stellar system and re-radiates it as infra-red (IR). It is the brightest object in the sky at mid-IR wavelengths.[4]
Within the Homunculus is a smaller Little Homunculus, and within that a shell of shocked material from stellar winds that has been called Baby Homunculus.[2]
^ abHøg, E.; Fabricius, C.; Makarov, V. V.; Urban, S.; Corbin, T.; Wycoff, G.; Bastian, U.; Schwekendiek, P.; Wicenec, A. (2000). "The Tycho-2 catalogue of the 2.5 million brightest stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 355: L27. Bibcode:2000A&A...355L..27H. doi:10.1888/0333750888/2862.
^ abcAbraham, Zulema; Falceta-Gonçalves, Diego; Beaklini, Pedro P. B. (2014). "Η Carinae Baby Homunculus Uncovered by A/km/kmLMA". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 95. arXiv:1406.6297. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791...95A. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/95. S2CID 62893264.
^Teodoro, M.; Damineli, A.; Sharp, R. G.; Groh, J. H.; Barbosa, C. L. (2008). "Near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of the Homunculus nebula around η Carinae using Gemini/CIRPASS". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 387 (2): 564. arXiv:0804.0240. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.387..564T. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13264.x. S2CID 2460614.
^Smith, Nathan (2012). "All Things Homunculus". Eta Carinae and the Supernova Impostors. Astrophysics and Space Science Library. Vol. 384. pp. 145–169. Bibcode:2012ASSL..384..145S. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-2275-4_7. ISBN 978-1-4614-2274-7. S2CID 6275803.
The HomunculusNebula is a bipolar emission and reflection nebula surrounding the massive star system Eta Carinae, about 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs)...
the nebula. Within the large bright nebula is a much smaller feature, immediately surrounding Eta Carinae itself, known as the HomunculusNebula (from...
5 kpc and the current distance of VY CMa which is about 1.17 kpc as the nebula is sometimes found to have the same distance as VY CMa. "The New York Times"...
shape. HomunculusNebula around Eta Carinae Hubble 5 M2-9 – The Wings of a Butterfly Nebula OH231.8+4.2 – The Calabash Nebula or Rotten Egg Nebula Mz3 (or...
to a less luminous η Car) V4030 Sagittarii (hypergiant surrounded by a nebula identical to the one around Sanduleak -69° 202) WR 102ka (the Peony star...
annual parallax method, but accurate distances for η Carinae and the HomunculusNebula, modelling of clusters, and astrophysical data about other stars assumed...
luminous blue variable, Vmax = −0.8m, Vmin = 7.9m; surrounded by the HomunculusNebula; one of the most luminous and most massive stars known. HR 3643 G...
companion accreted gas and launched jets that formed the hourglass shaped HomunculusNebula. In recent years Soker has studied Intermediate Luminosity Optical...
(possibly based on Mjolnir), the Cauldron of Rebirth, the Gwydion (a homunculus made of 'living language', based on Merlin) and the sword Excalibur (possibly...
author whose works include the Nebula Award winning Timescape), James Blaylock (Philip K. Dick Award winner, author of Homunculus and The Last Coin), Octavia...
Deeps) by John Wyndham Langdon St. Ives series by James Blaylock namely, Homunculus, Lord Kelvin's Machine, and The Digging Leviathan The Languages of Pao...
flying. 1916 Gustav Meyrink publishes The Green Face in Austria. The film Homunculus depicts an artificial being devoid of a motivating spirit. Otto Witt launches...
"chalk-stick bones, friable as talc", and is described as "wizened as an infant homunculus." Despite repeated corrective surgeries, Miles's height only reaches four-foot-nine...
of One-Z. However, One-Z's true nature is nothing more than a living homunculus and can only be moved when any smaller beings controlled its actions from...
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