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IC 4406
Planetary nebula in the constellation of Lupus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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IC 4406, sometimes known as the Retina Nebula,[4] is a planetary nebula near the western border of the constellation Lupus, the Wolf. It has dust clouds and has the shape of a torus. Despite this, it looks somewhat rectangular because it is seen from its side as viewed from Earth, almost in the plane[2] of its equator.
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Structure
IC 4406 is bipolar and appears to be a prolate spheroid with strong concentrations of material in its equator.[3] This kind of structure is a natural product of a bipolar model.[3] The knots of IC 4406 have a "lacy" appearance and have no ordered symmetry towards the central star.[2] The knots have no tails.[2] None of the features have bright edges.[2] At least 5 faint ring-like structures, seen as arcs north and south of the main nebula, have been detected in Very Large Telescope observations.[5]
The central star of the planetary nebula has a spectral type similar to that of a Wolf–Rayet star.[6] An analysis of Gaia data suggests that it may be a binary system.[7]
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Gallery
IC 4406 seen with MUSE instrument and the Adaptive Optics Facility.[8]
See also
References
External links
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