A MOLECULAR DISK AROUND THE EPISODIC JETS IN KJPN-8

We report the detection of millimeter CO emission from a dense, expand ing disk of molecular gas, approximate to 20'' in diameter, at the cen ter of the remarkable 14' x 4', bipolar, episodic jet system of the pl anetary nebula KjPn 8. The disk surrounds the compact photoionized cor e and exceeds it in mass by at least an order of magnitude. The disk a rds lies at a position angle of approximate to 115 degrees and appears to be aligned with the most prominent and youngest of the bipolar jet s. The disk axis is not, however, aligned with the older, more extensi ve bipolar structure of the nebula at a position angle of approximate to 71 degrees, indicating that major changes have taken place in the e scape of matter from the central star system over the last approximate to 5000 yr.