An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) captured the very moment when an old star first starts to alter its environment. The star has ejected high-speed bipolar gas jets which are now colliding with the surrounding material; the age of the observed jet is estimated to be less than 60 years. These are key features to understand how the complex shapes of planetary nebulae are formed.
![](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/tmb/2020/5e60ecf0dc0e7.jpg)
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2020-03-alma-metamorphosing-aged-star.html