Hubble Space Telescope proper-motion measurements of the eta Carinae nebula

We present proper-motion measurements of the bipolar lobes and equatorial d isk features ejected from eta Carinae during the last century and deduce th eir relative ages in order to determine the likelihood of multiple ejection events. Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 images taken in 1994, 1995, and 1999 were compared, and the motions of small (similar to 1 ") patches throughout the nebula were measured. Assuming that the materia l has not been accelerated or decelerated, the projected expansion velociti es of both lobes and two equatorial features (the "Paddle" and regions in t he NN Jet) indicate that the bipolar lobes and fast equatorial ejecta have the same origin date, some 150 years ago during the Great Eruption. We also conclude that the ejection of the partial shell of outer debris preceded t he Great Eruption by at least several decades or possibly a century, confir ming that the nebula surrounding eta Car represents at least two outburst e vents and maybe more.