TY - JOUR
T1 - A circular planetary nebula around the OH/IR star OH 354.88-0.54 (V1018 Sco)
AU - Cohen, Martin
AU - Parker, Quentin A.
AU - Chapman, Jessica
PY - 2005/3/11
Y1 - 2005/3/11
N2 - New deep, high-resolution Ha imagery from the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) Unit's Ha survey of the Southern Galactic Plane reveals the presence of a faint, highly circular, planetary nebula (PN) surrounding a very long-period variable star (now known as V1018 Sco), first discovered as a 1612-MHz OH maser, OH 354.88-0.54. The nebular phase-lag distance, diameter and radial velocity are 3.2 kpc, 0.3 pc and 13 km s
-1, respectively. Combining the maser attributes with near-, mid- and far-infrared data and with our optical spectrum of the ring we conclude that the object was an intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star (initial stellar mass ≥ 4M⊙) in which the fast wind has recently turned on, ionizing previously shed circumstellar material. Hence, we speculate that we may be witnessing a hitherto unobserved phase of PN evolution, in which a PN has only recently started to form around a star that is unequivocally still in its AGB phase.
AB - New deep, high-resolution Ha imagery from the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) Unit's Ha survey of the Southern Galactic Plane reveals the presence of a faint, highly circular, planetary nebula (PN) surrounding a very long-period variable star (now known as V1018 Sco), first discovered as a 1612-MHz OH maser, OH 354.88-0.54. The nebular phase-lag distance, diameter and radial velocity are 3.2 kpc, 0.3 pc and 13 km s
-1, respectively. Combining the maser attributes with near-, mid- and far-infrared data and with our optical spectrum of the ring we conclude that the object was an intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star (initial stellar mass ≥ 4M⊙) in which the fast wind has recently turned on, ionizing previously shed circumstellar material. Hence, we speculate that we may be witnessing a hitherto unobserved phase of PN evolution, in which a PN has only recently started to form around a star that is unequivocally still in its AGB phase.
KW - Masers
KW - Planetary nebulae: General
KW - Stars: AGB and post-AGB
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=15244354216&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08684.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08684.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:15244354216
SN - 0035-8711
VL - 357
SP - 1189
EP - 1196
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
IS - 4
ER -