Rest et al. reply

Replying to K. Davidson & R. M. Humphreys Nature486,http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11166(2012).In our Letter1 reporting the light echoes of η Carinae we analysed the spectral characteristics of η Carinae during the Great Eruption of the mid-1800s, and found the line content to be similar to that of G supergiant stars. This we interpret as evidence that η Carinae’s Great Eruption was not a typical luminous blue variable (LBV) outburst, because spectra similar to those of F and A supergiant stars, earlier and hotter than G-type stars, are observed in LBV eruptions of all kinds, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Davidson & Humphreys2 object that our spectral type and temperature estimate are not sufficiently robust, and that the spectral features are in agreement with their theoretical predictions.