| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| Planetary nebula | |
 The Ant Nebula taken by Hubble Space Telescope in 2008 | |
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 16h 17m 13.392s[1] |
| Declination | −51° 59′ 10.31″[1] |
| Distance | ~8,000 ly (~2,500 pc)[2] ly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.8[3] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | >50″ × 12″[2] |
| Constellation | Norma |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 1.0 ly[a] ly |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | 1.8[b] |
| Notable features | Three nested pairs of bipolar lobes |
| Designations | ESO 225-9,[1] Ant Nebula,[1] Chamber of Horrors[c] |
Mz 3 (Menzel 3) is a young bipolar planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation Norma that is composed of a bright core and four distinct high-velocity outflows that have been named lobes, columns, rays, and chakram. These nebulosities are described as: two spherical bipolar lobes, two outer large filamentary hour-glass shaped columns, two cone shaped rays, and a planar radially expanding, elliptically shaped chakram.[4][5] Mz 3 is a complex system composed of three nested pairs of bipolar lobes and an equatorial ellipse.[6] Its lobes all share the same axis of symmetry but each have very different morphologies and opening angles.[6] It is an unusual PN in that it is believed, by some researchers, to contain a symbiotic binary at its center.[5] One study suggests that the dense nebular gas at its center may have originated from a source different from that of its extended lobes.[5] The working model to explain this hypothesizes that this PN is composed of a giant companion that caused a central dense gas region to form, and a white dwarf that provides ionizing photons for the PN.[5]
Mz 3 is often referred to as the Ant Nebula because it resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant.
- ^ a b c d SIMBAD 2006
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Smith2003was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
pnwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Santander-García et al. 2004
- ^ a b c d Zhang & Liu 2006
- ^ a b Guerrero, Chu & Miranda 2004