Eta Carinae (IMAGE) University of California - Santa Barbara Caption This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the massive binary star system Eta Carinae taken in 1995. The pair of stars is hidden, but give off the white-blue glow at the center of the image. The hourglass shape is due to two huge lobes of gas expanding outward, a product of the mid-1800s Great Eruption that was studied as a light echo in Rest, et al. Credit Jon Morse (University of Colorado), and NASA Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.