Ultraviolet emission line imaging of planetary nebulae with GALEX

Bianchi, Luciana; Manchado, A.; Forster, Karl
Bibliographical reference

Planetary Nebulae: An Eye to the Future, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 283, p. 308-309

Advertised on:
8
2012
Number of authors
3
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
5
Refereed citations
4
Description
GALEX (the Galaxy Evolution Explorer) has provided far-UV(1344-1786Å) and near-UV(1771-2831Å) imaging of several Planetary Nebulae (e.g., Bianchi et al. 2008, Bianchi 2012), with flux limits ~27.5 mag/sq.arcsec for objects in the Medium-deph Imaging Survey (MIS). PNe images in the GALEX broad-band UV filters include flux from both nebular line and continuum emission. We use the GALEX grism observing mode to obtain slitless spectral imaging of a sample of PNe with diameters >1', in the near-UV. We show the first data from this program. The grism produces 2D images of the prominent UV nebular emission lines, when such lines dominate the flux. Combined with monochromatic images of diagnostic lines in the optical domain, such data help detect and interpret ionization and shock fronts, especially in faint nebular regions.