ASCA observations of Eta Carinae

We present ASCA results on the peculiar star eta Car in the center of the Carina Nebula. The X-ray emission from eta Car was found to be attributable to two thermal components: the high-temperature component (kT similar to 5 keV) is consistent with a point source, and is highly absorbed, while the low-temperature plasma (kT similar to 0.7 keV) is extended, and shows no significant circumstellar absorption. We found a line-like structure around 0.5 keV, which is probably due to the Ly alpha line of nitrogen. Using a variable-abundance coronal plasma model, we found that the relative abundance of nitrogen to oxygen is extremely large in comparison with the solar value. This may be the first X-ray evidence of the enrichment of CNO-processed material in an evolved massive star.