Abell 78 Planetary Nebula (Douglas J Struble)

Abell 78 Planetary Nebula

This planetary nebula was a bit challenging to process to get the detail out I was going for. I went a bit heavy on the OIII, as that is where most of the detail resigns of course.

Located around 5000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus (The Swan), Abell 78 is an unusual type of planetary nebula. Also known as ACO 78, PK 081-14.1 and ARO 174, this planetary nebula is 2.8 light-years across.

The authors have studied the ultraviolet spectrum of the nucleus of Abell 78, one of the two planetaries known to contain zones of nearly pure helium. Abell 78 is strikingly similar in many respects to Abell 30, the other planetary with embedded helium knots. The ultraviolet-optical color temperature, which the authors tentatively identify with the effective temperature, almost certainly lies between 67,000K and 130,000K. The limitations are set primarily by the error in the interstellar extinction. The best two choices of extinction now available yield 77,000 and 84,000 K. From the current evolutionary tracks and distance, these temperatures imply a mass of 0.56-0.58 M_sun;. The O V and N V P Cygni lines have terminal velocities similar to the value of 4200 km s-1 measured earlier for C IV. A new possible P Cygni line is also seen at λ1310, which is tentatively identified as Si II.

After exhausting the nuclear fuel in their cores, stars with a mass of around 0.8 to 8 times the mass of our Sun collapse to form dense and hot white dwarf stars. As this process occurs, the dying star will throw off its outer layers of material, forming an elaborate cloud of gas and dust known as a planetary nebula. This phenomenon is not uncommon, and planetary nebulae are a popular focus for astrophotographers because of their often beautiful and complex shapes. However, a few like Abell 78 are the result of a so-called “born again” star.

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Description: I think I pushed the background space just a hair too dark in my original. I brought it up 5% in this version.

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Planetary Nebulae

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Abell 78 Planetary Nebula

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