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Data collected from the Gemini South telescope in Chile has shed light on a nearly-200-year-old stellar eruption.

Gemini spectroscopy shows that ejected material from the blast was the fastest ever seen from a star that remained intact.

Imagine traveling from Earth to the Moon in 20 seconds. That is how quickly material from the 170-year-old explosion scurried away from unstable star Eta Carinae, according to the Gemini Observatory.