A radio nebula associated with Circinus X-1

An investigation of the variable source Circinus X-1 is reported that reveals that this eccentric double-star system is embedded in a nebula of steady radio emission extending over several parsecs, orders of magnitude larger than the binary stellar system responsible for the fluctuating component of emission. This is in marked constrast to most X-ray binaries, where an envelope of radio emission in conspicuously absent. There are difficulties in explaining the emission, but analogies with SS433 and the Crab nebula suggest possible models.