Gemini (GMOS) Planetary Nebulae Survey 'GemPlaNS': Spatially-Resolved Optical Slit-Scan Spectroscopy


Tuesday, 17 February 2015 1:30 p.m. — 2 p.m. MST

AURA Lecture Hall

NOIRLab South Colloquia
RHIANNON GARDINER (Gemini South AGUSS Student)

Slit-scan spectroscopy observations of 3 Planetary Nebulae (PNe) were taken with GMOS with the purpose of investigating the complex environment associated with these PNe. We developed a script that detect and fit emission lines in the data and project them into 2D brightness distribution maps.

With these maps we have established the spatial distribution of the different chemical elements within each nebula and derived the spatial distribution of the electron temperature and electron density. These data will be combined with dust estimates from infrared data to help us account for the total PN mass from the fully ionised core to the dusty outer reaches.​