--- title: 3D Print a Stellar Nebula description: Scientists have 3D printed the Eta Carinae nebula canonical: https://time.com/2981501/3d-printed-nebula/ author: Jeffrey Kluger article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-14T16:40:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:07:43.541Z article:section: Science og:title: Want Your Own Stellar Nebula? Now You Can 3D-Print One og:description: Scientists have 3D printed the Eta Carinae nebula og:url: https://time.com/2981501/3d-printed-nebula/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd54b079e8f248916/69869b92e8524b28b6603dec/eta-carinae-nebula.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1246 og:image:height: 701 og:image:alt: The Eta Carinae Nebula og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Want Your Own Stellar Nebula? Now You Can 3D-Print One twitter:description: Scientists have 3D printed the Eta Carinae nebula twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd54b079e8f248916/69869b92e8524b28b6603dec/eta-carinae-nebula.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Now You Can 3D-Print Your Own Stellar Nebula > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=4a0465da-a559-440f-a96f-5d171d7fee98&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=4a0465da-a559-440f-a96f-5d171d7fee98&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=4a0465da-a559-440f-a96f-5d171d7fee98&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Jul 14, 2014 4:40 PM UTC  NASA  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Jul 14, 2014 4:40 PM UTC People alive in 1841 understood the Eta Carinae nebula better than we do. They were the ones who were actually around to watch when an enormous star weighing about 130 times as much as our sun erupted more than 7,500 light years from Earth. Maybe if modern astronomers had been on the scene they could have figured out what caused the blast—and specifically why the vast cloud of dispersing matter that makes up the nebula assumed its signature peanut shape. Still, the good thing about those modern astronomers is that when they put their minds to something, it’s never too late to get some answers. An international team of researchers has just announced that they have done just that, publishing a new study in the [Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society](http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/442/4/3316.full.pdf+html) that may at last unravel the Eta Carinae mystery. The investigators did their work with the help of the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), conducting elaborate cross-sectional observations of Eta Carinae. These allowed them not only to develop a solid theory about how the star blew, but to create a 3D-printed model of the two-lobed space cloud that came from it. The model is not much to look at—two irregularly shaped balls of plastic that resemble extracted molars as much as anything else. Still, NASA has made the program necessary for printing your own version of Eta Carinae [publicly available](http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/astronomers-bring-the-third-dimension-to-a-doomed-stars-outburst/#.U8P%5Flo1dVMo). Whether you think it’s display-worthy or not, the model tells a complex story. The star at the center of the Eta Carinae nebula is actually two stars—a binary pair in perpetual orbit around each other. That had been known for a while, but how—or if—they worked together to shape the nebula was never clear. The international team now believes that the eruption occurred when the smaller star—which measures about 30 solar masses—was at the closest point in its orbit to the larger one. It does not appear that a collision triggered the explosion. That seems to have happened on its own, with the blast beginning at one of the poles of the 130-solar-mass star and propagating across its entire body to the other pole. But the close approach of the smaller star does seem to have had a powerful influence on shaping the eruptive cloud that resulted—and that star had a lot of material to work with. The larger star, which still exists, is now thought to weigh in at just 90 solar masses; the missing material—about 40 times the mass of our sun—is what we see when we look at the huge cosmic peanut. Why does any of this matter? Well, it doesn’t, if you take “matter” to mean influencing the well-being of the human species responsible for the finding. But if you mean making that species smarter, explaining to it how some of the universe’s most extraordinary and violently beautiful formations came to be, then it matters indeed—and quite a lot, in fact. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2981501/3d-printed-nebula/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2981501/3d-printed-nebula/"},"headline":"Now You Can 3D-Print Your Own Stellar Nebula","datePublished":"2014-07-14T16:40:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:07:43.541Z","description":"A new study makes it possible for you to hold one of astronomy's great mysteries in your hands—and understand it better too","url":"https://time.com/2981501/3d-printed-nebula/","keywords":["Space","NASA","explosion","nebula"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd54b079e8f248916/69869b92e8524b28b6603dec/eta-carinae-nebula.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Kluger","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd54b079e8f248916/69869b92e8524b28b6603dec/eta-carinae-nebula.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Eta Carinae Nebula","caption":"The Eta Carinae Nebula","creditText":"NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2981501/3d-printed-nebula/","name":"Now You Can 3D-Print Your Own Stellar Nebula"}}]}] ```