Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T02:23:22.724Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Optical Emission Line Survey of Large Planetary Nebulae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2006

G. J. Madsen ,
D. J. Frew ,
Q. A. Parker ,
R. J. Reynolds  and
L. M. Haffner
G. J. Madsen
Affiliation:
Anglo-Australian Observatory, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia email: madsen@aao.gov.au
D. J. Frew
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Q. A. Parker
Affiliation:
Anglo-Australian Observatory, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia email: madsen@aao.gov.au Department of Physics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
R. J. Reynolds
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
L. M. Haffner
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Accurate emission line fluxes from planetary nebulae (PNe) provide important constraints on the nature of the final phases of stellar evolution. Large, evolved PNe may trace the latest stages of PN evolution, where material from the AGB wind is returned to the interstellar medium. However, the low surface brightness and spatially extended emission of large PNe have made accurate measurements of line fluxes difficult with traditional long-slit spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, distinguishing these nebulae from H II regions, supernova remnants, or interstellar gas ionized by a hot, evolved stellar core can be challenging. Here, we report on an ongoing survey of large Galactic PNe ($r > 5^\prime$) with the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM), a Fabry-Perot spectrograph designed to detect faint diffuse optical emission lines with high sensitivity and spectral resolution. Our sample includes newly revealed $H\alpha$ enhancements from the AAO/UKST and WHAM $H\alpha$ surveys of Parker et al. and Haffner et al. We present accurate emission line fluxes of $H\alpha$, [N II]$\lambda$6583, and [O III]$\lambda$5007, and compare our data to other measurements. We use the emission line ratios and kinematics of the ionized gas to assess, or in some cases reassess, the identification of some nebulae.

Keywords

Planetary nebula: generalISM: generalHII regionssurveys
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 2 , Symposium S234: Planetary Nebulae in our Galaxy and Beyond , April 2006 , pp. 455 - 456
Copyright
© 2006 International Astronomical Union