Scientists fall in love with space 'red square'

Astrophysicists have found a “red square” described as one of the most beautiful sights in space.

Peter Tuthill, who led the team that discovered it, said the nebula showed an extraordinary degree of symmetry. “If you fold things across the principal diagonal axis, you get an almost perfect reflection symmetry. This makes the red square nebula the most symmetrical object of comparable complexity ever imaged.

“Discoveries as beautiful as this one don’t come around very often and it took some of the world’s most advanced telescopes, together with a good dose of luck, to find this jewel hidden among the myriad stars in the galaxy. A system as complex and fascinating as this is bound to keep us guessing for years to come.”

The discovery, reported in the journal Science, was made possible by an advance in telescope technology that improved the sharpness of images and allowed scientists to find previously unseen features.

A hot star called MWC 922 at the centre of a bipolar nebula was recorded as researchers investigated the constellation Serpens. One of the surprising features of the nebula was a sequence of sharply defined linear bars and a series of faint radical spokes described as like the teeth of a comb.

James Lloyd, of Cornell University in the United States, made the discovery with Dr Tuthill, of the University of Sydney. He said: “The high degree of regularity in this case may point to the intriguing possibility that these bands are shadows cast by periodic ripples or waves on the surface of an inner disk close to the star at the heart of the system.”

The red square may indicate that the star is close to exploding, giving astronomers an unrivalled opportunity to see a supernova before, during and after it happens.

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