Detection of the Compressed Primary Stellar Wind in η Carinae

A series of three Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectroscopic mappings, spaced approximately one year apart, reveal three partial arcs in [Fe II] and [Ni II] emissions moving outward from η Carinae. We identify these arcs with the shell-like structures, seen in the three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, formed by compression of the primary wind by the secondary wind during periastron passages.

Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program numbers 12013, 12508, and 12750. Support for program numbers 12013, 12508, and 12750 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.