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D. G. Currie (U. Maryland & ESO), J. Christou (CfAO, UCSC), D. Tyler (AHPCC, UNM), S. Jefferies (MHPCC, UNM), D. Le Mignant, D. Bonaccini (ESO)
The three-dimensional shape of the Homunculus of eta Carinae, as well as the detailed features of the SouthEast Lobe have been observed using the ADONIS system on the ESO 3.6 meter telescope at La Silla. To measure the normally invisible back wall of the Homunculus, we have observed in the infrared (to reduce the opacity of the front wall) and used the Fabry-Perot Interferometer (to distinguish between the Doppler shifts of the light reflected from the back wall and the brighter light reflected from the front wall). This analysis confirms the Double-Flask model and the orientation of the symmetry axis obtained from the previous analysis of the front wall emission and the assumption of rotational symmetry (Currie et. al. 1995, Currie et. al. 1996, Dowling 1996). To evaluate the fine detail of the turbulent motions in the front wall of the SouthEast Lobe, we use broad band observations in the H and K bands. This will be compared to the similar features seen in the shorter wavelengths (at the same resolution) by the WFPC. In the infrared, we see more detail of the shear behavior already seen at the visible wavelengths (Dowling, 1996). To further explore these features, the results of several types of deconvolution will be considered in order to obtain the optimal resolution for the AO data, and to compare the different data processing methodologies. We wish to thank ESO for the observation time, and the 3.6 meter team for observational support. We also wish to thank the STScI and WFPC IDT team. Support for individual authors has come from ESO, the University of Maryland, AFOSR, and CfAO.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: currie@hubble.physics.umd.edu