GeminiFocus June 2012 | Page 35

1 kiloparsec or about 3,260 light-years), the faint star has about the right brightness to be the fading remnant of the nebula’s progenitor star,” says Frew. Then again, the brighter binary star is an uncommon one that shows strong and broad hydrogen-alpha emission, which are seen in some planetary nebulae. According to Frew, this star is also unlikely to be a chance projection or alignment with the nebula, “So there could be at least three stars in this system,” he says. tion,” says Miranda. Unfortunately, not much is known about either po