[10] R Aquarii is a symbiotic star believed to contain a white dwarf and a Mira-type variable in a binary system.

[6] The main Mira-type star is a red giant, and varies in brightness by a factor of several hundred and with a period of slightly more than a year; this variability was discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding in 1810.

[12] By its gravitational pull, the white dwarf draws in material from the red giant and occasionally ejects some of the surplus in loops to form the nebula seen in the linked image.

[13] The whole system appears reddened because it is situated in a very dusty region of space, and its blue light is absorbed before reaching Earth.

[16] The central region of the jet shows an ejection that took place around 190 years ago, as well as much younger structures.