Volume 33 number 1 (2005)
from the AAVSO and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of η Carinae are presented in comparison with other ground-based observations and in the context of the long-term brightening trend which started in the early 1900s. Our results are consistent with the idea put forth by others that there is a lowering of the continuous opacity in the dusty environment surrounding h Carinae which results in increased flux in optical wavelengths.