Hen 2-47 is a young planetary nebula

Planetary nebula

A planetary nebula is an emission nebula consisting of an expanding glowing shell of ionized gas ejected during the asymptotic giant branch phase of certain types of stars late in their life...

 that lies about 6600 light years away from Earth in the southern constellation of Carina

Carina (constellation)

Carina is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was formerly part of the larger constellation of Argo Navis until that constellation was divided in three.-Stars:...

, the keel.

Hen 2-47 contains six lobes of gas

Gas

Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...

 and dust that suggest that the central star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

of the nebula ejected material at least three times in three different directions. During each ejection, the star fired off a narrow pair jets of gas pointed in opposite directions, eventually giving the nebula the shape it has at present.