NGC2346

NGC 2346

NGC 2346, in contrast to the first two young objects, is a so-called
"planetary nebula," which is ejected from Sun-like stars which are
near the ends of their lives. NGC 2346 is remarkable because its
central star is known to be actually a very close pair of stars,
orbiting each other every 16 days. It is believed that the binary star
was originally more widely separated. However, when one component of
the binary evolved, expanded in size, and became a red-giant star, it
literally swallowed its companion star. The companion star then
spiralled downwards inside the red giant, and in the process spewed
out gas into a ring around the binary system. Later on, when the hot
core of the red giant was exposed, it developed a faster stellar wind,
which emerged perpendicularly to the ring and inflated two huge
"bubbles." This two-stage process is believed to have resulted in the
butterfly-like shape of the nebula. NGC 2346 lies about 2,000
light-years away from us, and is about one-third of a light-year in
size.

The Hubble Heritage team made this image from observations of NGC 2346
acquired by Massimo Stiavelli (STScI), Inge Heyer (STScI), and
collaborators.

Image Credit: NASA/The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI).