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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Красный прямоугольник http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1165400/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Anglo-Australian Telescope
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Explanation:
The unusual geometry of this stellar nebula creates somewhat of a mystery.
At the nebula's center is a young binary star system that probably created
the nebula, but how? This type of nebula shows a "bipolar flow" which
carries a significant amount of mass away from the central stars. It has
been speculated that the central stars create a pair of
jets that precess
like a spinning top. These jets might throw gas into a thick disk which we
see here edge on - so that it appears to us as a rectangle. The nebula
emission is also unusual in that some of the
infrared light it emits
might be associated with unusual carbon-containing molecules.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
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and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
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rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.