10955( 1) - 04/03/06 11:08 - [ 1] HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVING PROGRAM 10955 Version: 1 Check-in Time: 03-Apr-2006 15:08:28 Title Chemical Abundances in the Ejecta of Eta Carinae ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type Cycle Parallel Pointing Tolerance AR 15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investigators Contact? PI: Dr. Theodore R. Gull NASA Goddard Space Flight Center CoI: Dr. Krister Nielsen Catholic University of America N CoI: Dr. Sveneric Johansson Lund University N CoI: Dr. Henrik Hartman Lund University N CoI: Ms. Gladys Vieira Kober Science Systems and Applications, Inc. N CoI: Dr. Kerstin Weis Universitat Bochum, Astronomisches N Institut CoI: Dr. Otmar Stahl Landessternwarte Heidelberg N CoI: Dr. Dominik J. Bomans Universitat Bochum, Astronomisches N Institut CoI: Dr. Ekaterina Verner University of the District of Columbia N CoI: Dr. Frederick C. Bruhweiler Catholic University of America N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Abstract The massive (>100 solar masses) stellar system, Eta Carinae, is immersed in its own CNO-processed material thrown out over the past 170 years. These nitrogen-rich, carbon- and oxygen-poor ejecta have enriched metal abundances and peculiar dust properties, most likely due to chemical processes and photo-excitation, not pre- ejection nuclear processes. The outermost ejecta, the Homunculus, is a well-defined warm, dusty neutral shell including at least ten solar masses of material. We propose to expand the STIS narrow line absorption studies to include VLT/UVES measures and obtain relative abundances of metals, some of which are not seen in the ISM due to dust formation. We thereby will provide information to dust experts on the differences of dust around Eta Carinae compared to normal ISM dust. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------