NGC 2867

NGC 2867
Emission nebula
Planetary nebula
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 2867
Credit: HST/NASA/ESA
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension09h 21m 25.38336s[1]
Declination−58° 18′ 40.6167″[1]
Distance7,270 ly (2,228 pc)[2] ly
Apparent magnitude (V)9.7[3]
Apparent dimensions (V)12″[4]
43.3″ × 35.6″[5]
ConstellationCarina
DesignationsESO 126-8, PN G278.1-05.9,[6] Caldwell 90
See also: Lists of nebulae

NGC 2867 (also known as Caldwell 90) is an elliptical[5] Type II[7] planetary nebula in the southern constellation of Carina, just over a degree to the NNW of the star Iota Carinae.[8] It was discovered by John Herschel on April 1, 1834. Herschel initially thought he might have found a new planet, but on the following night he checked again and discovered it had not moved.[3] The nebula is located at a distance of 7,270 light-years from the Sun.[2]

The central star of the nebula is of spectral type WC3[9] and is in the process of evolving into a white dwarf, having previously shed the atmosphere that created the surrounding nebula. It is now a hydrogen deficient GW Vir variable that is undergoing non-radial pulsations with an amplitude of less than 0.3 in magnitude. The star has an estimated temperature of 165+18
−20 kK with 5% of the radius of the Sun and is radiating 1,400 times the Sun's luminosity.[5]

The surrounding nebula is fairly typical but does shows carbon enrichment, which suggests the progenitor star was not massive but did pass through third dredge-up. The category of central star has excited a very high degree of ionization in the nebula.[7] The shape of the nebula appears somewhat elongated, which may indicate an interaction with the surrounding interstellar matter. The nebula halo may be a recombination of two separate halos, which could indicate a peculiar mass-loss history.[10]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference GaiaDR2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Stanghellini2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference OMeara2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference seds was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Keller2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference SIMBAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Peña2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sinnott1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Werner1992 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Corradi2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).