Blast from the past: Boffins find the fastest exploding non-supernova star

Eta Carinae's Big Eruption might yet go supernova

Eta Carinae is one the strangest star systems in space. When it exploded in the 19th century, it became the second brightest star in the sky. Now, scientists studying "light echoes" have found that it was also the fastest non-fatal outburst of any star system."