Scientists Pin Down Ghostly, Planetary Nebulae with New Technique

Planetary nebulae may have just gotten a more meaningful physical presence. Researchers have found a new way to estimate more accurate distances to the thousands of so-called planetary nebulae dispersed across our galaxy.

Despite their name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. They are actually the final stage of activity of stars like our sun. When stars reach the end of their lives, they eject most of their atmosphere into space, leaving behind a hot dense core. Light from this core causes the expanding cloud of gas to glow in different colors as it slowly grows, fading away over tens of thousands of years.

There are thousands of planetary nebulae in our galaxy, and they provide targets for professional and amateur astronomers alike.

"For many decades, measuring distances to galactic planetary nebulae has been a serious, almost intractable problem because of the extremely diverse nature of the nebulae themselves and their central stars," said David Frew, one of the researchers, in a news release. "But finding those distances is crucial if we want to understand their true nature and physical properties."

In this case, the researchers used up-to-date and reliable measurements of three crucial properties to determine surface-brightness relation. In the end, the scientists calibrated accurate distances for at least 300 planetary nebulae up to five times more accurately than previous methods.

The findings are important when it comes to better understanding how planetary nebulae grow and develop. By understanding distance, researchers can also factor in time.

The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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