Discovered in the early 1970s as a strong source of infrared radiation, the Red Rectangle lies about 2,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Monoceros. The central star is actually a close binary pair that orbit one another every 10 ½ months. Their interaction has probably ejected dust from the disk that obscures our view of the binary. The disk in turn funnels outflows up and away, forming the bizarre structure we see as the Red Rectangle.