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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Symbiotic Star System R Aquarii
Explanation: Sometimes stars work together to create a spectacular display. Such is the case with the binary star system R Aquarii - a “symbiotic” star system. Here two stars, a variable giant and a white dwarf companion - create both a nebula and a jet . Light from the giant star and the unusually shaped nebula are visible in the above photograph. The two visible shells in the nebula likely resulted from two separate outburst events. Much about symbiotic star systems remains unknown.
| Date | January 4, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Credit: Anglo-Australian Telescope photograph by David Malin Copyright: Anglo-Australian Telescope Board |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |