The oldest visible planetary nebula (PN) has been discovered by astronomers inside a 500 million year old galactic open cluster (OC). The rare celestial gem, which was found inside the M37 star cluster, is thought to have significant astrophysical worth. The luminous shrouds known as planetary nebulas (PNe) are ejected from dying stars and shine with distinctive colours and patterns, providing astronomers with a breathtaking sight. A group of scientists from the University of Hong Kong produced the finding. They discovered that the kinematic age of the PN was 70,000 years.
Out of the roughly 4,000 planetary nebulae (PNe) known in our galaxy, the recently discovered PN known as IPHASX J055226.2+323724 is only the third to exhibit a link between a PN and an OC. Furthermore, it is said to be the earliest PN ever found by astronomers.
They calculated the age by examining the nebula's rate of PN emission line expansion. They also believed that the speed represents the length of time since the dying star first ejected the nebular shell and that it has stayed essentially constant throughout.
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Even though the planetary nebula is incredibly old, compared to the progenitor star's hundreds of millions of years of age, it is still a mere blink of an eye. The "grand old dame," according to the researchers, resides in a star cluster whose environment permitted the team to identify potent additional factors that are not conceivable for the majority of galactic PNs.
Estimating the mass of the progenitor star of the PN at the time it stopped the stellar main sequence is one of these parameters. By using theoretical isochrones and observing the characteristics of the hot, blue core star, the researchers may also determine the residual mass of the star from which the PNe were expelled.
The team used this technique to assess the size and leftover mass of the star that birthed the PN gaseous shell.
The three cases we have discovered are all butterfly (bi-polar) PNs in terms of shape, all are very faint and highly evolved, all have Type-I chemistry according to their emission lines, and of course, all have intermediate to high progenitor masses, said Dr. Vasiliki FRAGKOU, a former HKU PhD student. "I am so excited to be able to work on these fascinating rare cases of OC-PN associations because they keep turning up important science results," she added. Additionally, she is the study's primary author that was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
