NGC 6072

NGC 6072
Emission nebula
Planetary nebula
A Spitzer Space Telescope image of NGC 6072
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension16h 12m 58.363s[1]
Declination−36° 13′ 47.40″[1]
Distance3,060 ly (939 pc)[1]
3,320 ly (1,017 pc)[2] ly
Apparent magnitude (V)14[3]
Apparent dimensions (V)70″[2]
ConstellationScorpius
DesignationsIRAS F16097-3606, NGC 6072[4]
See also: Lists of nebulae

NGC 6072 is a planetary nebulae in the southern constellation of Scorpius. It has a dynamical age of 104 years. Its circumstellar envelope is likely to be rich in carbon as it has very strong CN (cyanide) spectral lines. CN spectral lines are generally not detected in oxygen rich AGB (asymptotic giant branch) circumstellar envelopes. NGC 6072 also shows H2 (hydrogen) emission and intense CO (carbon monoxide) emission which has been mapped displaying bipolarity and some gas at high velocity. The evolution of this planetary nebulae is likely to be dominated by photodissociation and ion/radical molecular reactions. Shock chemistry is also likely to be important.

An analysis of Gaia data suggests that the central star is a binary system.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference GaiaDR2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Stanghellini_et_al_2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SEDS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference SIMBAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chornay_et_al_2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).