NARA

The first observation time granted by the large international ALMA interferometer to a Brazilian researcherwas for Dr. Zulema Abraham, from NARA. This observation time was obtained facing a huge competition, with more than 1000 requests for time for the first round of ALMA, when this instrument was still incomplete. The observations were made and the data, received by Dr. Abraham in January 2013, are still under review. The object was observed was Eta Carinae, a massive super star in our galaxy, which in the past had strong mass ejection events and may eventually explode as a supernova. Dr. Abraham has been observing Eta Carina several years in lower radio frequency using the radiotelescope of 13.7 m of Itapetinga, and working on theoretical models to explain the data. The observations at high frequencies and high angular resolution, obtained now, will be crucial to confirm their models.