Emission nebula | |
---|---|
Planetary nebula | |
Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
Right ascension | 13h 55m 43.23s |
Declination | −59° 22′ 40.03″ [1] |
Distance | 6,500 ly |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.52 [1] |
Constellation | Centaurus |
Designations | PN G311.0+02.4, DENIS J135543.2-592239, GSC 08676-01161, 2MASS J13554323-5922398, PK 311+02 2 [1] |
SuWt 2 is a
planetary nebula viewed almost edge-on
[2] in the constellation of
Centaurus. It is believed that high
UV radiation from an undiscovered
white dwarf ionizes this nebula. Currently, there is a
binary system consisting of two
A-type main-sequence stars whose radiation is not sufficient to photo-ionize the surrounding nebula.
[3] The nebula is easily obscured by the brighter star,
HD 121228.
It has been suggested that it has a triple stellar system. One of them, which is more massive than other two A-type main-sequence stars, evolved rapidly and became a red giant, swallowing the other two stars, and produced the planetary nebula. [2]