Overview
- The narrow strip of ionised iron sits within the nebula’s interior, distinct from the bright ring seen in conventional images.
- The feature spans nearly four trillion miles and contains an amount of iron comparable to the mass of Mars.
- Astronomers used the William Herschel Telescope’s WEAVE Large Integral Field Unit to map elements across the entire nebula.
- Researchers are weighing explanations that include directional ejecta from the dying star or vaporised rocky-planet debris, with current data showing iron largely on its own.
- The peer-reviewed study, led by Roger Wesson and published in MNRAS, outlines follow-up measurements of composition and motion and plans to survey other planetary nebulae for similar structures.