The Radio Source Around $\eta$ Carinae
Session 39 -- Interferometry II
Oral presentation, Tuesday, 2:00-6:30, Zellerbach Playhouse Room

## [39.06] The Radio Source Around $\eta$ Carinae

S.~M.~White (U.~Maryland), R.~A.~Duncan (ATNF), J.~Lim (Caltech), G.~J.~Nelson (ATNF/Paul Wild Obs.), S.~A.~Drake (USRA/HEASARC), M.~R.~Kundu (U.~Maryland)

The first high--spatial--resolution (1{\hbox{$^{\prime\prime}$}}) radio image of the source surrounding the famous massive southern star $\eta$ Carinae has been obtained with the Australia Telescope. The image shows a number of interesting features: a strong central peak; ridges of emission close to the peak and extending away from it in the directions of putative jets'' seen in the HST image of the region, and also other ridges in the directions of the lobes of the Homunculus; a box--like extended feature of dimension 7{\hbox{$^{\prime\prime}$}} \ $\times$ 5{\hbox{$^{\prime\prime}$}}, with its major axis orthogonal to the major axis of the Homunculus; and two fainter lobes extending to 5{\hbox{$^{\prime\prime}$}} \ from the star in the directions of both lobes of the Homunculus. The radio image bears a strong resemblance to the high--resolution infra--red images of the region around the star. No radio emission associated with the more extended X--ray--emitting nebula is detected. The current rate of mass loss from the star is estimated, and physical conditions within the nebula are discussed.