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