New Hubble Images of Doomed Star Eta Carinae Available; Internet Users
Can View Image in 3-D

Contact:	Don Savage
		Headquarters, Washington, DC            June 10, 1996
		(Phone:  202/358-1547)


		Tammy Jones
		Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
		(Phone:  301/286-5566)

		Ray Villard
		Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
		(Phone:  410/338-4514)

NOTE TO EDITORS:  N96-39

NEW HUBBLE IMAGES OF DOOMED STAR ETA CARINAE
AVAILABLE; INTERNET USERS CAN VIEW IMAGE IN 3-D

       A huge, billowing pair of gas and dust clouds are
captured in stunning new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of
one of the most massive stars in our Galaxy, the supermassive
Eta Carinae.  Eta Carinae, located more than 8,000 light years
away, was the site of a giant outburst about 150 years ago,
when it became one of the brightest stars in the southern sky.
A combination of image processing techniques reveal astonishing
detail of the exploding star, which is radiating about five
million times more power than our Sun.

       Those with Internet access can view a unique 3-D (three-
dimensional) image of the exploding star, which was assembled
from two HST images of Eta Carinae taken 17 months apart (April
1994 and September 1995).  Hubble's high resolution of the
motion of the gas and dust between the observations allowed
astronomers to combine and encode the images to reveal the true
three-dimensional geometry of the system.  To see the 3-D
structure, the image must be viewed through color 3-D glasses
with the left eye looking through a red filtered lens, and
right eye looking through a blue filtered lens.  Please note 3D
glasses will not be available through NASA or the Space
Telescope Science Institute.

       All the image files (including the 3-D image) in GIF and
JPEG format, as well as captions may be accessed on Internet
via anonymous ftp from ftp.stsci.edu in /pubinfo.


                          GIF              JPEG
Eta Carinae color    gif/EtaCarC.gif   jpeg/EtaCarC.jpg
Eta Carinae diff.    gif/EtaCarD.gif   jpeg/EtaCarD.jpg
Eta Carinae 3-D      gif/EtaCarS.gif   jpeg/EtaCarS.jpg

GIF and JPEG images, captions and information are available via
World Wide Web at:

http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/96/23.html and via links in:
http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/latest.html or
http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html.

       Hard copy prints of the images (except the 3-D image)
are available to news media representatives by calling 202/358-
1900.  Photo numbers are:

                              Color           B & W
       Super-Sharp View     96-HC-361         96-H-361
       Expansion of Debris    - - -           96-H-362

                             - end -