Eta Carinae

Big news this week on the astronomy front – NuSTAR mission proves superstar Eta Carinae shoots out cosmic rays (see https://phys.org/print449835766.html … a study using data from NASAs NuSTAR space telescope suggests Eta Carinae, the most prominent and massive stellar system within 10,000 light years, is accelerating particles of high energy – some of which arrive in our solar system. Kugi Hamaguchi, a NASA astrophysicist, said 'we know the blast waves of exploded stars (supernovae) can accelerate cosmic ray particles to speeds comparable to that of light, an incredible energy boost …'. He added, 'similar processes must occur in other extreme environments. Our analysis indicates Eta Carinae is one of them'.