High and low resolution spectroscopy, together with narrow and broad b
and imaging have been acquired for the unusual outflow source NGC 7026
. We find evidence for appreciable changes in excitation, and a highly
variable emission structure: consistent in part with observed variati
ons in electron density. The mean electron density is found to be n(e)
= 2.0510(3) cm(-3), whilst the mean extinction is A(v) = 2.0 mag. The
outflow kinematics match the optical structure in suggesting an extre
mely complex flow, explainable in terms of four separate outflow centr
es distributed at the extremities of an inner spheroidal shell. Such f
eatures may constitute an advanced phase in the break-up of the primar
y shell, and eventually lead to the formation of a more typical bipola
r outflow structure.