The Ant Nebula, aka Mz3, is a young bipolar planetary nebula in the constellation Norma. It is 8,000 light years away from Earth and it has a magnitude of 13.8. It was discovered by Donald Howard Menzel in 1922. The nebula is composed of a bright core and four high-velocity outflows which have been variously named as lobes, columns, rays, and chakram. The gas being ejected travels at 1000-kilometres per second and the structure is one light year long.
So why is this nebula an odd shape? There are a couple of possibilities.
So why is this nebula an odd shape? There are a couple of possibilities.
- One is that the central star of Mz3 has a companion orbiting closely that is exerting strong gravitational forces, shaping the out flowing gas.
- The second possibility is that the strong magnetic fields are being wound into complex shapes by the spin of the dying star.
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