Cosmic sprinklers explained: Odd pair of aging stars sculpt spectacular shape of planetary nebula

(Phys.org)—Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered a pair of stars orbiting each other at the centre of one of the most remarkable examples of a planetary nebula. The new result confirms a long-debated theory about what controls the spectacular and symmetric appearance of the material flung out into space. The results are published in the 9 November 2012 issue of the journal Science.

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