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Studying the appearance and properties of bipolar winds is critical tounderstand the stellar evolution from the AGB to the planetary nebula (PN)phase. Many uncertainties exist regarding the presence and role of binarystellar systems, mainly due to the deficit of conclusive observationalevidences. We investigate the extended equatorial distribution around the earlybipolar planetary nebula M 2-9 ("Minkowski's Butterfly Nebula") to gather newinformation on the mechanism of the axial ejections. Interferometric millimeterobservations of molecular emission provide the most comprehensive view of theequatorial mass distribution and kinematics in early PNe. Here we presentsubarcsecond angular-resolution observations of the 12CO J=2-1 line andcontinuum emission with the Plateau de Bure interferometer. The data reveal tworing-shaped and eccentric structures at the equatorial basis of the two coaxialoptical lobes. The two rings were formed during short mass-loss episodes (~ 40yr), separated by ~ 500 yr. Their positional and dynamical imprints provideevidence of the presence of a binary stellar system at the center, which yieldscritical information on its orbital characteristics, including a mass estimatefor the secondary of ~< 0.2 \ms. The presence of a stellar system with amodest-mass companion at the center of such an elongated bipolar PN stronglysupports the binary-based models, because these are more easily able to explainthe frequent axisymmetric ejections in PNe.

Two short mass-loss events that unveil the binary heart of Minkowski's Butterfly Nebula