                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

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                               2025 December 5

                      The Bipolar Jets of KX Andromedae
     Image Credit & Copyright: Tim Schaeffer and the Deep Sky Collective

   Explanation: Blasting outward from variable star KX Andromedae, these
   stunning bipolar jets are 19 light-years long. Recently discovered,
   they are revealed in unprecedented detail in this deep telescopic image
   centered on KX And and composed from over 692 hours of combined image
   data. In fact, KX And is spectroscopically found to be an interacting
   binary star system consisting of a bright, hot B-type star with a
   swollen cool giant star as its co-orbiting, close companion. The
   stellar material from the cool giant star is likely being transferred
   to the hot B-type star through an accretion disk, with spectacular
   symmetric jets driven outward perpendicular to the disk itself. The
   known distance to KX And of 2,500 light-years, angular size of the
   jets, and estimated inclination of the accretion disk lead to the size
   estimate for each jet of an astonishing 19 light-years.

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     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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