 Return to Index |
 Previous Image |
 Next Image |
The Red Rectangle is an unusual nebula.
It surrounds a mature star, very much like our own sun, that will soon
evolve into a planetary nebula. The central star has a thick belt of dust
around its equator, which prevents the star from ejecting material in
the equatorial direction. To counteract this, ejection patterns take on
a somewhat conic shape at the poles.
(Copyright Anglo-Australian Observatory)
References:
http://www.aao.gov.au/images/captions/aat094.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951102.html
Object |
Distance from Earth |
Wavelength |
The Red Rectangle |
1,100
light years |
Optical |
