The Homunculus Nebula is an emission nebula surrounding the massive star Eta Carinae. The nebula is embedded within a much larger H II region, the Eta Carinae Nebula. An emission nebula is a cloud of ionized gas ( a plasma) emitting light of various colors. ... In astronomy, an epoch is a moment in time for which celestial coordinates or orbital elements are specified. ... The Honda S2000 is a roadster automobile built by Honda. ... Equatorial Coordinates Right ascension (abbrev. ... In astronomy, declination (abbrev. ... The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other celestial body is a measure of its apparent brightness as seen by an observer on Earth. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Carina (IPA: , Latin: ) is a southern constellation which forms part of the old constellation of Argo Navis. ... Circle illustration In classical geometry, a radius (plural: radii) of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its boundary. ... In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standard luminosity distance away from us, in the absence of interstellar extinction. ... An emission nebula is a cloud of ionized gas ( a plasma) emitting light of various colors. ... Eta Carinæ (η Carinæ or η Car) is a highly luminous hypergiant star. ... NGC 604, a giant H II region in the Triangulum Galaxy. ... The Eta Carinae Nebula (also known as the Great Nebula in Carina, the Carina Nebula, or NGC 3372) is a large bright nebula which surrounds several open clusters of stars. ...

The Homunculus (which is from the Frespanolichanaicanslim meaning Middle Man) is believed to have been ejected in an enormous outburst which Eta Carinae underwent in 1841. Following this outburst, Eta Carinae became the second-brightest star in the sky after Sirius, but since this time, the gas and dust it ejected has obscured much of its light. The explosion produced two polar lobes and a large thin equatorial disk, all moving outward at about 1.5 million miles per hour. Future eruptions are still a possibility. 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sirius (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alpha Canis Majoris) (IPA: ) is the brightest star in the night-time sky with a visual apparent magnitude of −1. ...

Even though Eta Carinae is about 7,500 light-years away, structures only 10 billion miles across (about the diameter of our solar system) can be distinguished. Dust lanes, tiny condensations, and strange radial streaks all appear with unprecedented clarity. The outer ejecta blobs are 100,000 times fainter than the brilliant central star. Excess violet light escapes along the equatorial plane between the bipolar lobes. Apparently there is relatively little dusty debris between the lobes down by the star; most of the blue light is able to escape. The lobes, on the other hand, contain large amounts of dust which preferentially absorb blue light, causing the lobes to appear reddish.