The Highest Resolution Image of NGC 2346

The unprecedented resolution of GSAOI and GeMS reveals clumps of molecular hydrogen in the bipolar lobes of planetary nebula NGC 2346. This image shows H2 (1-0) S(1) emission at 2.12μm and is about 1 arcminute on a side.

The Highest Resolution Image of NGC 2346

Arturo Manchado (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and Universidad de La Laguna, Spain) and collaborators use high-resolution images obtained with the Gemini Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) and the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) to show filaments and instabilities in the bipolar lobes of the planetary nebula NGC 2346. While the gas distribution around the progenitor star was once toroidal, the system has evolved so only dense fragments remain. More information is available from the NOAO image release re-posted on the Gemini web page. The researchers will present complete results, including numerical modeling, in The Astrophysical Journal, and a preprint is now available.