  Context: The bright star eta Carinae is the most massive and luminous star in
our region of the Milky Way. Though it has been extensively studied using many
different techniques, its physical nature and the mechanism that led to the
creation of the Homunculus nebula are still debated. Aims: We aimed at
resolving the central engine of the eta Carinae complex in the near-infrared on
angular scales of a few milliarcseconds. Methods: We used the VINCI instrument
of the VLTI to recombine coherently the light from two telescopes in the K
band. Results: We report a total of 142 visibility measurements of eta Car,
part of which were analyzed by Van Boekel et al. (2003). These observations
were carried out on projected baselines ranging from 8 to 112 meters in length,
using either two 0.35 m siderostats or two 8-meter Unit Telescopes. These
observations cover the November 2001 - January 2004 period. Conclusions: The
reported visibility data are in satisfactory agreement with the recent results
obtained with AMBER/VLTI by Weigelt et al. (2006), asuming that the flux of eta
Car encircled within 70 mas reaches 56% of the total flux within 1400 mas, in
the K band. We also confirm that the squared visibility curve of eta Car as a
function of spatial frequency follows closely an exponential model.
