Stingray Nebula
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Planetary nebula | Lists of nebulae |
|---|---|
Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the nebula |
|
| Observation data (Epoch J2000) |
|
| Right ascension | 17h 16m 21.071s[1] |
| Declination | -59° 29′ 23.64″[1] |
| Distance | 18 kly (5.6 kpc)[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.75[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 1″.6[2] |
| Constellation | Ara |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 0.08 ly[2] |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | -3.0[a] |
| Notable features | |
| Other designations | PN G331.3-12.1,[1] Hen 3-1357[1] |
The Stingray Nebula (Hen-1357) is the youngest known planetary nebula (PN). (Gry 2002) The Stingray is located in the direction of the southern constellation Ara (the Altar).
Contents |
[edit] History
Karl Gordon Henize classified Stingray Nebula as an A or B type Hα emission line star in 1950. It was observed in 1971 to be a post asymptotic giant branch (AGB) B1 supergiant. It was discovered to have become a PN in 1989 by the IUE (Parthasarathy et al 1993).[2] (Gry 2002) Parthasarathy et al. concluded that the light from the event arrived at Earth after 1975, probably in 1987 (the light would have travelled for about 18,000 years). (Parthasarathy 2000)
[edit] Central star
In 1995 its central star (CS) was observed to be rapidly transforming into a DA white dwarf, having faded by a factor of 3 between 1987 and 1995. The central star has a companion star with a 0″.3 angular separation. The CS is estimated to have a mass of 0.6 M☉ while the nebula itself is estimated to have a mass of 0.015 M☉. Its luminosity is estimated to be 3000 L☉. (Parthasarathy 2000)
[edit] Notes
- ^ 10.75 apparent magnitude - 5 * (log10(5.6 kpc distance) - 1) = -3.0 absolute magnitude
[edit] References
- Gry, C. (2002), "The rapidly evolving planetary nebula Hen 3-1357", FUSE Proposal ID #Q304
- Guerrero, Martin (2005), "The Earliest Production of Hot Gas in Young Planetary Nebulae", XMM-Newton Proposal ID #04023801
- Parthasarathy, M. (2000), "Birth and early evolution of planetary nebulae", Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India 28: 217-224
- SIMBAD (January 15, 2007), Results for Stingray Nebula, SIMBAD, Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg
