A huge, billowing pair of gas and dust clouds is captured in this stunning Hubble telescope picture of the super-massive star Eta Carinae. Due to its gigantic size, Eta Carinae can be distinguished [from the surface of the Earth], even though it is more than 8,000 light-years away. 10 billion miles across, it has roughly the diameter of our solar system. Eta Carinae suffered a giant outburst about 150 years ago, when it became one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Though the star released as much visible light as a supernova explosion, it survived the outburst. Somehow, the explosion produced two lobes and a large, thin equatorial disk, all moving outward at about 1.5 million miles per hour. Estimated to be 100 times heftier than our Sun, Eta Carinae may be one of the most massive stars in our galaxy.
The image was captured in this stunning NASA Hubble Space Telescope picture.

To reflect the billowing pair of gas and dust clouds of the doomed star eta.carinae, the composition uses a thematic sequence of ABBCBBA.