NASA observatories on Wednesday presented stunning new observations of the explosive dual-star system Eta Carinae at the American Astronomical Society's conference.

Astronomers used space telescopes, a supercomputer and a 3-D printer to see through the star system's dense nebula and record new observations.

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A notable discovery was a set of luminous flares on the surface, which astronomers believe indicates Eta Carinae's changing stellar winds.

Thomas Madura of NASA mapped the stars' stellar winds clashing with each other using supercomputer simulations. The result was an improved demonstration of the dual-star system.

The team was also able to look deeply into the anatomy of Eta Carinae's center using 3-D models. Scientists have observed Eta Carinae since the 19th century, aware of the possibility it might explode in a great supernova.

Although recent observations couldn't determine when Eta Carinae will go nova, the recent findings made significant contributions to the study of the star system.

"We are coming to understand the present state and complex environment of this remarkable object," said Ted Gull, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center astronomer. He added that they have a long way to go to forecast Eta Carinae's future behavior and explain past eruptions.

Scientists expect the stars to move closer again in 2020. When the stars encounter each other, they produce intense solar winds. When the winds collide, they heat the gas around them and cause X-ray emissions, said Michael Corcoran of Goddard.

Through this event, astronomers hope to gain new knowledge of the star system.

The Eta Carinae system consists of a primary star 90 times bigger than our Sun and a smaller star orbiting the other. The primary star erupted twice in the 1840s for reasons still unknown, transforming it into the brightest star close to Earth and causing the Homunculus Nebula to expand.

TagsNASA, Stars, Eta Carinae, Astronomy, stellar