Discovery of a Multipolar Structure with an Equatorial disk in NGC 6072
Zhang, Yong; Kwok, Sun; Hsia, Chih-Hao; Chong, Sze-Ning; Koning, Nico
Hong Kong SAR, Canada
Abstract
From near-infrared and molecular hydrogen imaging observations, we have discovered that the planetary nebula NGC 6072 has a multipolar structure with a prominent equatorial ring. We have modeled the object by a double bipolar system, each with an equatorial ring and a pair of bipolar lobes. The bipolar axes of the two systems are estimated to be separated by 47°. The existence of such a double bipolar system suggests that the object has undergone separate fast outflow episodes separated by several thousand years.