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The Physical Structure of NGC 3242

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2006

Nieves Ruiz
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, A. 3004, 18008 Granada, Spain, email: nieves@iaa.es, mar@iaa.es
Martín A. Guerrero
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, IAA-CSIC, A. 3004, 18008 Granada, Spain, email: nieves@iaa.es, mar@iaa.es
You-Hua Chu
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois, 1002 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801 USA, email: chu@astro.uiuc.edu, gruendl@astro.uiuc.edu
Robert A. Gruendl
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois, 1002 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801 USA, email: chu@astro.uiuc.edu, gruendl@astro.uiuc.edu
Karen B. Kwitter
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Williams Collegue, Williamstown, MA 01267 USA, email: kkwitter@williams.edu
Margaret Meixner
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 Saint Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA, email: meixner@stsci.edu
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Abstract

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The formation and evolution of planetary nebulae (PNe) is largely attributed to the interaction of the fast stellar wind with the wind of the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), and to the dynamical effects of the photo-ionization of the nebular material. The physical structure of a PN can be used to assess the relative importance of fast stellar winds and photo-ionization in its shaping and evolution, but there is little information on the hot gas content of PNe. Using our recent XMM-Newton observations of NGC 3242, we have made a comprehensive analysis of the physical structure of this nebula, combining the physical conditions of the shocked fast stellar wind in its interior and the spatio-dynamical structure and physical conditions of the photo-ionized material.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
© 2006 International Astronomical Union