Related papers: Comparing Eta Carinae with the Red Rectangle
The core of the nebula surrounding Eta Carinae has been observed with the VLT Adaptive Optics system NACO and with the interferometer VLTI/MIDI to constrain spatially and spectrally the warm dusty environment and the central object. In…
Eta Carinae, the most massive and luminous star known in our galaxy, is rapidly boiling matter off its surface. At any time its core could collapse into a black hole, which may result in a gamma-ray burst (GRB) that can devastate life on…
In this review I present the binary model for the shaping of planetary nebulae (PNe) as I view it, in the context of historical evolution of other models for the shaping of PNe over more than 30 years. In describing the binary model, I…
The morphology of planetary nebulae emerging from the common envelope phase of binary star evolution is investigated. Using initial conditions based on the numerical results of hydrodynamical simulations of the common envelope phase it is…
We simulate the formation of bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe) through very short impulsive mass ejection events from binary systems, where the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star ejects a mass shell that is accelerated by jets launched from a…
We present a study of Hen 2-155 and Hen 2-161, two planetary nebulae which bear striking morphological similarities to other planetary nebulae known to host close-binary central stars. Both central stars are revealed to be photometric…
It is now clear that central star binarity plays a key role in the formation and evolution of planetary nebulae, with a significant fraction playing host to close-binary central stars which have survived one or more common envelope…
Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) are the most important standard candles for measuring the expansion history of the universe. The thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf can explain their observed properties, but neither the progenitor systems…
We describe and analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of transient emission near 4680 {\AA} in Eta Car, reported earlier by Steiner & Damineli (2004). If, as seems probable, this is He II $\lambda$4687, then it is a unique clue…
Symbiotic systems are interacting binary stars consisting of both hot and cool components. This results in a complex environment that is ideal for studying the latter stages of stellar evolution along with interactions within binary…
We present a detailed analysis of IC 4776, a planetary nebula displaying a morphology believed to be typical of central star binarity. The nebula is shown to comprise a compact hourglass-shaped central region and a pair of precessing…
We report the detection of a hot companion of $\eta$ Carinae using high resolution spectra (905 - 1180 \AA) obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (\fuse) satellite. Observations were obtained at two epochs of the 2024-day…
I suggest a spiral-in process by which a stellar companion graze the envelope of a giant star while both the orbital separation and the giant radius shrink simultaneously, and a close binary system is formed. The binary system might be…
The nature and origin of the molecular gas component located in the circumstellar vicinity of $\eta$ Carinae are still far from being completely understood. Here, we present Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(3$-$2)…
Among the distinguishing characteristics of the remarkable hot R Coronae Borealis star DY Cen, which was recently found to be a spectroscopic binary, is the presence of nebular forbidden lines in its optical spectrum. A compilation of…
Eta Carinae is one of the most extreme cases of a Luminous Blue Variable star. A bipolar nebula of 17" size surrounds the central object. Even further out, a large amount of filamentary material extends to a distance of 30" or about 0.3 pc.…
Planetary Nebulae represent a powerful window into the evolution of low-intermediate mass stars that have undergone extensive mass-loss. The nebula manifests itself in an extremely wide variety of shapes, but exactly how the mass lost is…
Bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe) are thought to result from binary star interactions and, indeed, tens of binary central stars of PNe have been found, in particular using photometric time-series that allow detecting post-common envelope…
We present the first detailed spatio-kinematical analysis and modelling of the planetary nebula HaTr 4, one of few known to contain a post-common-envelope central star system. Common envelope evolution is believed to play an important role…
During its first 2 years of operation, the gamma-ray AGILE satellite accumulated an extensive dataset for the Galactic plane. The data have been monitored for transient sources and several gamma-ray sources were detected. Their variability…