1 research outputs found
Planetary Nebulae: Observational Properties, Mimics, and Diagnostics
The total number of true, likely and possible planetary nebulae (PN) now
known in the Milky Way is nearly 3000, double the number known a decade ago.
The new discoveries are a legacy of the recent availability of wide field,
narrowband imaging surveys, primarily in the light of H-alpha. In this paper,
we summarise the various PN discovery techniques, and give an overview of the
many types of objects which mimic PN and which appear as contaminants in both
Galactic and extragalactic samples. Much improved discrimination of classical
PN from their mimics is now possible based on the wide variety of high-quality
multiwavelength data sets that are now available. We offer improved taxonomic
and observational definitions for the PN phenomenon based on evaluation of
these better diagnostic capabilities. However, we note that evidence is
increasing that the PN phenomenon is heterogeneous, and PN are likely to be
formed from multiple evolutionary scenarios. In particular, the relationships
between some collimated symbiotic outflows and bipolar PN remain uncertain.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures; presentation at the workshop on the Legacies of
the Macquarie/AAO/Strasbourg H-alpha Planetary Nebula project, accepted by
the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA