In this image, however, made in the light of cold formaldehyde gas at 4.5 mm wavelength, the location of the star is not easily noted. At the upper right, a short linear feature locates a second, quite luminous, young star called SMM1. A bipolar flow can be seen driving outward from this star in images made in the light of the carbon monoxide molecule, similar to what is seen in L1157 or VLA1623 images elsewhere on this page. Just to the north of it lies an enigmatic double object, called S68N or SMM9 which may be the youngest of the young stars in the image. It is the subject of intense current investigation.
Molecules escape a dying star, carrying new atoms into space.
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.