Contact: Richard Hook
rhook@eso.org
49-893-200-6655
ESO

The Planetary Nebula Fleming 1 Seen with ESO's Very Large Telescope

Caption: This new ESO Very Large Telescope image shows the planetary nebula Fleming 1 in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). This striking object is a glowing cloud of gas around a dying star. New observations have shown that it is likely that a very rare pair of white dwarf stars lies at the heart of this object. Their orbital motions can fully explain the remarkably symmetric structures of the jets in the surrounding gas clouds in this and similar objects.

Credit: ESO/H. Boffin

Usage Restrictions: None

Related news release: Cosmic sprinklers explained