Across The Universe, Cont. -- Symbiotic Binary Star

 

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From NASA/ ESA, October 16, 2024: This image features R Aquarii, a symbiotic binary star that lies only roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. This is a type of binary star system consisting of a white dwarf and a red giant that is surrounded by a large, dynamic nebula.

[Image description: A bright binary star surrounded by a nebula. The star, in the centre, is a large white spot surrounded by a circular glow. It has a large, X-shaped set of diffraction spikes around it. The nebula extends far above, below, left and right of the star in long, arcing shapes made of thin, multicoloured filaments — mostly red and greenish colours, but lit in a bright cyan near the star where its light illuminates the gas.]

Credit:  NASA, ESA, M. Stute, M. Karovska,  D. de Martin & M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)