KjPn 8

KjPn 8
Emission nebula
Planetary nebula
Two mosaic images of KjPn 8 made with the Aristarchos 2.3 m Telescope. The upper image shows Hα emission, and the lower image shows [NII] (ionized Nitrogen) emission.[1] This is a negative image.
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension23h 24m 10.472s[2]
Declination60° 57′ 30.75″[2]
Distance1600±230[3] pc
ConstellationCassiopeia
DesignationsPN G112.5200.1[4]
K 3-89[4]
See also: Lists of nebulae

KjPn 8 is a bipolar planetary nebula which was discovered by M.A. Kazaryan and Eh. S. Parsamyan in 1971[5] and independently by Luboš Kohoutek in 1972.[6]

Very little was published about this nebula until 1995, when it was realized that KjPn 8 sits in the center of a very large filamentary nebula, 14 by 4 arc minutes in size. This is the largest known bipolar structure associated with a planetary nebula. Narrow band images centered at Hα and forbidden line transitions of nitrogen, sulphur, and oxygen reveal pairs of bow shocks at differing position angles, indicating the presence of episodic ejection of material along a precessing jet, similar to what is seen in Fleming 1, but much larger (in angular extent).[7] The physical size of this extended nebula is approximately 4.1 by 1.2 parsecs, much larger than a typical planetary nebula, while the core nebula known prior to 1995 is only about 0.2 parsecs in diameter.[8]

The envelope of KjPn 8 is expanding rapidly enough to allow the proper motion of features in the nebula to be measured. In 1997 John Meaburn compared images of the nebula taken in 1954 (as part of the Palomar Sky Survey) and 1991.He measured a proper motion of 34±3 milliarcseconds per year for two knots in the nebula. Combining this proper motion with an expansion velocity derived from spectral line profile widths allowed Meaburn to derive a distance to the nebula of 1600±230 parsecs, and a kinematic age of 3400±300 years.[3]

Microwave emission from carbon monoxide reveals the presence of a dense disk of molecular gas 30 arcseconds in diameter expanding at about 7 km/sec, with a mass ≥ 0.03 M⊙. The disk is aligned with the youngest and fastest bipolar jet, which has an expansion velocity of about 300 km/sec. The central star has begun to ionize the central region of this disk.[4]

Hubble Space Telescope observations suggest that KjPn 8 might be a very rare object, formed by a binary system in which both stars had similar masses, which reached the end of the Asymptotic Giant Branch phase within 10 to 20 thousand years of each other, and entered the planetary nebula formation stage nearly simultaneously.[9]

  1. ^ Boumis, P.; Meaburn, J. (April 2013). "The expansion proper motions of the extraordinary giant lobes of the planetary nebula KjPn 8 revisited". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 430 (4): 3397–3405. arXiv:1301.5589. doi:10.1093/mnras/stt138. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Results for PN KjPn 8, SIMBAD, Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg, 27 November 2020
  3. ^ a b Meaburn, J. (November 1997). "The proper motion distance to the remarkable bipolar planetary nebula KjPn 8". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 292 (1): L11–L14. Bibcode:1997MNRAS.292L..11M. doi:10.1093/mnras/292.1.L11 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  4. ^ a b c Forveille, Thierry; Huggins, Patrick J.; Bachiller, Rafael; Cox, Pierre (March 1998). "High-Resolution CO Imaging of the Molecular Disk around the Jets in KjPn 8". The Astrophysical Journal. 495 (2): L111–L114. arXiv:astro-ph/9801081. Bibcode:1998ApJ...495L.111F. doi:10.1086/311229. S2CID 19008022. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. ^ Kazaryan, M.A.; Parsamyan, Eh. S. (January 1971). "New planetary nebulae". Astronomicheskij Tsirkulyar. 602: 6–8.
  6. ^ Kohoutek, L. (January 1972). "Hamburg Schmidt-camera survey of faint planetary nebulae. Cygnus-Perseus region". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 16: 291–300. Bibcode:1972A&A....16..291K. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. ^ López, J.A; Vazquez, R.; Rodriguez, L.F. (10 December 1995). "The discovery of a bipolar, rotating, episodic jet (BRET) in the planetary nebula KjPn 8". The Astrophysical Journal. 455: L63–L66. Bibcode:1995ApJ...455L..63L. doi:10.1086/309801. S2CID 122373115. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. ^ Steffen, W.; López, J.A. (December 1998). "Jets and the Shaping of the Giant Bipolar Envelope of the Planetary Nebula KjPn 8". The Astrophysical Journal. 508 (2): 696–706. arXiv:astro-ph/9807021. Bibcode:1998ApJ...508..696S. doi:10.1086/306441. S2CID 18776447. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. ^ López, J. A.; Rodriguez, L. F.; Meaburn, J.; García-Segura, G.; Vázquez, R.; Franco, J.; Steffen, W.; Miranda, L. F.; Bryce, M. (February 2002). "Point-Symmetry and the Double Planetary Nebula KjPn 8". Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Serie de Conferencias. 12: 123–126. Bibcode:2002RMxAC..12..123L. Retrieved 27 November 2020.