Star Eta Carinae in our Galaxy could go Supernova anytime

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Eta Carinae is an enormous star in our own Milky Way, 7,500 light-years from Earth. Before SN 2006gy went supernova, it expelled a large amount of material, similar in mass to that now being ejected by Eta Carinae, prompting speculation that a similar fate awaits Eta Carinae. Dave Pooley, at the University of California at Berkeley, said if Eta Carinae were to explode "it would be so bright that you would see it during the day, and you could even read a book by its light at night". He added there has not been a supernova witnessed in the Earth's Milky Way galaxy for more than 400 years. Mario Livio, of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, said that Eta Carinae could explode at any time. "We don't know for sure if Eta Carinae will explode soon, but we had better keep a close eye on it just in case," he was quoted by AFP as saying. "Eta Carinae's explosion could be the best star-show in the history of modern civilisation," he said. Meantime... A massive star about 150 times the size of the Sun exploded in what could be a long-sought new type of supernova, Nasa scientists have said. The supernova star, called SN 2006gy, was originally discovered in September last year. The explosion was seen to peak for about 70 days, during which it is thought to have shone about five times more brightly than any supernova seen in the past. It was a "truly monstrous explosion, a hundred times more energetic than a typical supernova". "That means the star that exploded might have been as massive as a star can get, about 150 times that of our Sun. We've never seen that before." He said the explosion, which was located some 240 million light-years away, polluted the surrounding environment with metals and elements that are needed for life.