Subarcsecond imaging polarimetry of η Carinae in the mid-infrared has revealed organized grain alignment within the shells which define the homunculus. The grain alignment is discussed in terms of the combined effect of radiation-driven streaming of grains through gas and a swept-up magnetic field. It is proposed that the present structure of η Carinae is the result of an outburst from within a dense, magnetized disc which may be a relic of an earlier collapse phase.
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Aitken et al. (1995) studied this question.