Distances, radii, and masses of the planetary nebulae.
Abstract
The authors have used recently published data on planetary nebulae densities, radio continuum fluxes, and gas kinetic temperatures, to determine nebular distances, masses, and radii. Distances are found to differ from those determined through the Shklovky method by a mean factor ≡2; nebular radii are found to take values R ≤ 0.3 pc, and the mean shell mass is determined to be <log(M/M_sun;)> = -1.31±0.13. Evidence is presented for an intrinsic variation in ionised shell masses, ranging over some two orders of magnitude or more. Finally, density is found to change with nebular radius as ne ∝ R-1.3. This result, together with the proposed mass variation, may indicate the presence of substantial H I zones outside the observed ionised shells.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- January 1984
- Bibcode:
- 1984A&A...130...91P
- Keywords:
-
- Astrometry;
- Planetary Nebulae;
- Stellar Evolution;
- Distance;
- Error Analysis;
- Radii;
- Stellar Mass;
- Astrophysics