False color image of molecular emission around the star AFGL2688, the Egg Nebula, from VLA and optical telescope data. Superimposed, in a southwestern turquoise, is the 2 micron H2 image which NRAO Jansky Fellow Bill Latter published last year. Molecular hydrogen requires high temperatures for its excitation, probably provided here by shocks in a fast wind emanating from the poles of the star. There is a second lobe symmetrically placed in the south, lying just beyond the southern HC3N emission. For many more stunning pictures of gracefully aging stars, see Bill Latter 's home page.
Further study is under way.