Publications (64)
Progressive star formation in the young galactic super star cluster NGC 3603
Giacomo Beccari, Loredana Spezzi, Guido De Marchi +22
Early release science observations of the cluster NGC3603 with the WFC3 on the refurbished HST allow us to study its recent star formation history. Our analysis focuses on stars wi…
The Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Early Release Science data: Panchromatic Faint Object Counts for 0.2-2 microns wavelength
Rogier A. Windhorst, Seth H. Cohen, Nimish P. Hathi +35
We describe the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) Early Release Science (ERS) observations in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) South field.…
A Compact X-ray Source and Possible X-ray Jets within the Planetary Nebula Menzel 3
Joel H. Kastner, Bruce Balick, Eric G. Blackman +4
We report the discovery, by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, of X-ray emission from the bipolar planetary nebula Menzel 3. In Chandra CCD imaging, Mz 3 displays hot (3-6x10^6 K) gas…
Menzel 3: Dissecting the ant
Miguel Santander-Garcia, Romano L. M. Corradi, Bruce Balick +1
The structure and kinematics of the bipolar nebula Mz 3 have been investigated by means of HST, CTIO and ESO images and spectra. At least four distinct outflows have been identifie…
A Grand Challenge for Planetary Nebulae
Adam Frank, Orsola De Marco, Eric Blackman +1
The study of PN has been confronting a growing list of dilemmas which have yet to find coherent resolution. These issues are both observational and theoretical and can be stated as…
JWST/NIRCam imaging of the Bipolar Planetary Nebula NGC 6537: the (Infra)red Spider, Revealed
Joel Kastner, Paula Moraga Baez, Bruce Balick +5
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) near-infrared (NIRCam) Br, H, [Fe II], and PAH imaging of the molecule-rich, high-excitation bipolar planetary nebula (PN) NGC…
A silicate disk in the heart of the Ant
Olivier Chesneau, Foteini Lykou, Bruce Balick +6
We aim at getting high spatial resolution information on the dusty core of bipolar planetary nebulae to directly constrain the shaping process. Methods: We present observations of…
A Detailed Look at Chemical Abundances in Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae. I. The Small Magellanic Cloud
Richard A. Shaw, Ting-Hui Lee, Letizia Stanghellini +8
We present an analysis of elemental abundances of He, N, O, Ne, S, and Ar in Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae (PNe), and focus initially on 14 PNe in the Small Magellanic Cloud (…
PPN as Explosions: Bullets vs Jets and Nebular Shaping
Timothy J. Dennis, Andrew J. Cunningham, Adam Frank +3
Many proto-planetary nebulae (PPN) appear as narrow collimated structures sometimes showing multiple, roughly aligned lobes. In addition, many PPN flows have been shown to have sho…
Co-spatial UV-optical HST/STIS Spectra of Six Planetary Nebulae: Nebular and Stellar Properties
Timothy R. Miller, Richard B. C. Henry, Bruce Balick +4
This paper represents the conclusion of a project that had two main goals: (1) to investigate to what extent planetary nebulae (PNe) are chemically homogeneous; and (2) to provide…
Abundances of PNe in the Outer Disk of M31
Karen B. Kwitter, Emma M. M. Lehman, Bruce Balick +1
We present spectroscopic observations and chemical abundances of 16 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the outer disk of M31. The [O III] 4363 line is detected in all objects, allowing a d…
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Lyman Alpha Emission at z=4.4
Steven L. Finkelstein, Seth H. Cohen, Rogier A. Windhorst +28
We present the highest redshift detections of resolved Lyman alpha emission, using Hubble Space Telescope/ACS F658N narrowband-imaging data taken in parallel with the Wide Field Ca…
The messy death of a multiple star system and the resulting planetary nebula as observed by JWST
Orsola De Marco, Muhammad Akashi, Stavros Akras +66
Planetary nebulae (PNe), the ejected envelopes of red giant stars, provide us with a history of the last, mass-losing phases of 90 percent of stars initially more massive than the…
Panchromatic HST/WFC3 Imaging Studies of Young, Rapidly Evolving Planetary Nebulae. I. NGC 6302
Joel H. Kastner, Paula Moraga, Bruce Balick +4
We present the results of a comprehensive, near-UV-to-near-IR Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 imaging study of the young planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6302, the archetype of the class of e…
Photo-evaporation of clumps in Planetary Nebulae
Garrelt Mellema, Alejandro C. Raga, Jorge Canto +4
We study the evolution of dense neutral clumps located in the outer parts of planetary nebulae. These clumps will be photo-ionized by the ionizing radiation from the central star a…
Abundances of Galactic Anticenter Planetary Nebulae and the Oxygen Abundance Gradient in the Galactic Disk
R. B. C. Henry, Karen B. Kwitter, Anne E. Jaskot +3
We have obtained spectrophotometric observations of 41 anticenter planetary nebulae (PNe) located in the disk of the Milky Way. Electron temperatures and densities, as well as chem…
Probing the Molecular Hearts of Extreme Bipolar Planetary Nebulae with ALMA
Paula Moraga Baez, Joel H. Kastner, Jesse Bublitz +6
We present results from a program of Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) 1.3 mm (Band 6) molecular line mapping of a sample of nearby, bipolar/pinched-waist, molecule-rich PNe (N…
Science with the ngVLA: Planetary Nebulae
Joel H. Kastner, Albert Ziljstra, Bruce Balick +1
Planetary nebulae (PNe) represent the near endpoints of evolution for stars of initial mass 1-8 , wherein the envelope of an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star becom…
Star formation in 30 Doradus
Guido De Marchi, Francesco Paresce, Nino Panagia +24
Using observations obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we have studied the properties of the stellar populations in the central…
Detection of CH3+ in the O-rich planetary nebula NGC 6302
Charmi Bhatt, Jan Cami, Els Peeters +33
Planetary nebulae are sites where ejected stellar material evolves into complex molecules, but the precise physical conditions and chemical routes that govern these processes are u…
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph slitless observations of Small Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae: a study on morphology, emission line intensity, and evolution
Letizia Stanghellini, Richard A. Shaw, Bruce Balick +3
A sample of 27 Planetary Nebulae (PNs) in the Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC) have been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) to determine their mo…
Outflows from Evolved Stars: The Rapidly Changing Fingers of CRL618
Bruce Balick, MartÃn Huarte-Espinosa, Adam Frank +4
Our ultimate goal is to probe the nature of the collimator of the outflows in the pre PN CRL618. CRL618 is uniquely suited for this purpose owing to its multiple, bright, and caref…
Excitation & Excavation of the Claws of the Southern Crab
Bruce Balick, Ashley Swegel, Adam Frank
We show that the Southern Crab (aka Hen2-104) presents an auspicious opportunity to study the form and speed of the invisible winds that excavate and shock the lobes of various typ…
Large Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebula Morphology: Probing Stellar Populations and Evolution
Letizia Stanghellini, Richard A. Shaw, Bruce Balick +1
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) offer the unique opportunity to study both the Population and evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars, by means of…
From Bipolar to Elliptical: Simulating the Morphological Evolution of Planetary Nebulae
MartÃn Huarte-Espinosa, Adam Frank, Bruce Balick +4
The majority of Proto-planetary nebulae (PPN) are observed to have bipolar morphologies. The majority of mature PN are observed to have elliptical shapes. In this paper we address…
Supernova Remnants and the Interstellar Medium of M83: Imaging & Photometry with WFC3 on HST
Michael A. Dopita, William P. Blair, Knox S. Long +23
We present Wide Field Camera 3 images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope within a single field in the southern grand design star-forming galaxy M83. Based on their size, morphol…
Metal-Rich PNe in the Outer Reaches of M31
Bruce Balick, Karen Kwitter, Romano Corradi +1
Spectroscopic data of two relatively [O III]-luminous-PNe have been obtained with the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias. M174 and M2496 are each ~1 degree from the center of M31 alon…
Sulfur, Chlorine, and Argon Abundances in Planetary Nebulae. IV: Synthesis and the Sulfur Anomaly
R. B. C. Henry, K. B. Kwitter, Bruce Balick
We have compiled a large sample of O, Ne, S, Cl, and Ar abundances which have been determined for 85 galactic planetary nebulae in a consistent and homogeneous manner using spectra…
Models of the Mass-Ejection Histories of pre Planetary Nebulae, IV. Magnetized Winds and the Origins of Jets, Bullets, and FLIERs
Bruce Balick, Adam Frank, Baowei Liu
The influences and consequences of toroidal magnetic fields in shaping the visible lobes of pre planetary nebulae ("prePNe") are explored in this, the last of a series of papers of…
On the most luminous planetary nebulae of M31
Rebeca Galera-Rosillo, Antonio Mampaso, Romano L. M. Corradi +6
To study the progenitors of PNe at the tip of the Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function (PNLF), we obtained the deepest existing spectra of a sample of PNe in the galaxy M31. Precis…
Magnetic Nested-wind Scenarios for Bipolar Outflows: Pre-planetary and YSO nebular shaping
Timothy J. Dennis, Adam Frank, Eric G. Blackman +3
We present results of a series of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and hydro- dynamic (HD) 2.5D simulations of the morphology of outflows driven by nested wide-angle winds - i.e. winds wh…
The Illumination and Growth of CRL 2688: An Analysis of New & Archival HST Observations
Bruce Balick, Thomas Gomez, Dejan VinkoviÄ +3
We present four-color images of CRL 2688 obtained in 2009 using the Wide-Field Camera 3 on HST. The F606W image is compared with archival images in very similar filters to monitor…
Using H-alpha Morphology and Surface Brightness Fluctuations to Age-Date Star Clusters in M83
Bradley C. Whitmore, Rupali Chandar, Hwihyun Kim +21
We use new WFC3 observations of the nearby grand design spiral galaxy M83 to develop two independent methods for estimating the ages of young star clusters. The first method uses t…
The evolution of M 2-9 from 2000 to 2010
Romano L. M. Corradi, Bruce Balick, Miguel Santander-GarcÃa
M 2-9, the Butterfly nebula, is an outstanding representative of extreme aspherical flows. It presents unique features such as a pair of high-velocity dusty polar blobs and a mirro…
Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of L2 Puppis
Zhuo Chen, Jason Nordhaus, Adam Frank +2
Recent observations of the L2 Puppis system suggest that this Mira-like variable may be in the early stages of forming a bipolar planetary nebula (PN). As one of nearest and bright…
The Luminosity, Mass, and Age Distributions of Compact Star Clusters in M83 Based on HST/WFC3 Observations
Rupali Chandar, Bradley C. Whitmore, Hwihyun Kim +21
The newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to obtain multi-band images of the nearby spiral galaxy M83. These new observations are t…
A disk inside the bipolar planetary nebula M2-9
Foteini Lykou, Olivier Chesneau, Albert A. Zijlstra +4
Bipolarity in proto-planetary and planetary nebulae is associated with events occurring in or around their cores. Past infrared observations have revealed the presence of dusty str…
Panchromatic HST/WFC3 Imaging Studies of Young, Rapidly Evolving Planetary Nebulae. II. NGC 7027
Paula Moraga Baez, Joel H. Kastner, Bruce Balick +2
The iconic planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7027 is bright, nearby (D ~ 1 kpc), highly ionized, intricately structured, and well observed. This nebula is hence an ideal case study for und…
Anatomy of a post-starburst minor merger: a multi-wavelength WFC3 study of NGC 4150
R. Mark Crockett, Sugata Kaviraj, Joseph I. Silk +22
(Abridged) We present a spatially-resolved near-UV/optical study of NGC 4150, using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. Previous studies of this ear…
Morphology and Evolution of LMC Planetary Nebulae
Richard A. Shaw, Letizia Stanghellini, Max Mutchler +2
The LMC is ideal for studying the co-evolution of planetary nebulae (PNe) and their central stars, in that the debilitating uncertainties of the Galactic PN distance scale and sele…
Bipolar Planetary Nebulae from Outflow Collimation by Common Envelope Evolution
Yangyuxin Zou, Adam Frank, Zhuo Chen +8
The morphology of bipolar planetary nebulae (PNe) can be attributed to interactions between a fast wind from the central engine and dense toroidal shaped ejecta left over from comm…
Co-spatial Long-slit UV/Optical Spectra of Ten Galactic Planetary Nebulae with HST/STIS I. Description of the Observations, Global Emission-line Measurements, and CNO Abundances
Reginald J. Dufour, Karen B. Kwitter, Richard A. Shaw +3
We present observations and initial analysis from an HST/STIS program to obtain the first co-spatial, UV-optical spectra of ten Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe). Our primary object…
Slitless Spectroscopy of LMC Planetary Nebulae. A Study of the Emission Lines and Morphology
Letizia Stanghellini, Richard A. Shaw, Max Mutchler +3
HST STIS slitless spectroscopy of LMC PNs is the ideal tool to study their morphology and their ionization structures at once. We present the results from a group of 29 PNs that ha…
The Decline and Fall of the Youngest Planetary Nebula
Bruce Balick, MartÃn A. Guerrero, Gerardo Ramos-Larios
The Stingray Nebula, aka Hen3-1357, appeared for the first time in 1990 when bright nebular lines and radio emission that had not been observed before were unexpectedly discovered…
Appraising the Necklace: A post-common-envelope carbon dwarf inside an apparently carbon-poor planetary nebula
David Jones, Romano L. M. Corradi, Gustavo A. GarcÃa Pérez +15
Context: The Necklace nebula is a bipolar, post-common-envelope planetary nebula, the central star of which has been shown to have a dwarf carbon star companion. Aims: We aim to un…
Models of the Hydrodynamic Histories of post-AGB Stars. I. Multiflow Shaping of OH231.8+04.2
Bruce Balick, Adam Frank, Baowei Liu +1
We present a detailed hydrodynamic model that matches the present structure of the well-observed preplanetary nebula OH231.8+04.2. The purpose of the model is to present a physical…
High-Speed Outflows and Dusty Disks during the AGB to PN Transition: The PANORAMA survey
Raghvendra Sahai, Javier Alcolea, Bruce Balick +15
As mass-losing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars evolve to planetary nebulae (PNe), the mass outflow geometries transform from nearly spherical to extreme aspherical. The physica…
The Resolved Stellar Population in 50 Regions of M83 from HST/WFC3 Early Release Science Observations
Hwihyun Kim, Bradley C. Whitmore, Rupali Chandar +22
We present a multi-wavelength photometric study of ~15,000 resolved stars in the nearby spiral galaxy M83 (NGC5236, D=4.61Mpc) based on Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 o…
ALMA Observations of Molecular Line Emission from High-excitation Bipolar Planetary Nebulae
Paula Moraga Baez, Joel H. Kastner, Jesse Bublitz +7
We present early results from our program of ALMA Band 6 (1.3mm) molecular line mapping of a sample of nearby, well-studied examples of high-excitation, bipolar/pinched-waist and m…
Serendipitous Chandra X-ray Detection of a Hot Bubble within the Planetary Nebula NGC 5315
Joel Kastner, Rodolfo Montez, Bruce Balick +1
We report the serendipitous detection of the planetary nebula NGC 5315 by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The Chandra imaging spectroscopy results indicate that the X-rays from this…
Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury IX: A Photometric Survey of Planetary Nebulae in M31
Mark J. Veyette, Benjamin F. Williams, Julianne J. Dalcanton +8
We search Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) broadband imaging data from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT…
Serendipitous XMM-Newton Detection of X-ray Emission from the Bipolar Planetary Nebula Hb 5
Rodolfo Montez, Joel H. Kastner, Bruce Balick +1
We report the serendipitous detection by the XMM-Newton X-ray Observatory of an X-ray source at the position of the Type I (He- and N-rich) bipolar planetary nebula Hb 5. The Hb 5…
Simultaneous Production of Disk and Lobes: A Single-Wind MHD Model for the Eta Carinae Nebula
Sean Matt, Bruce Balick
The luminous blue variable Eta Carinae is surrounded by a complex and highly structured nebula of ejected material. The best-studied and axisymmetric components of this outflow con…
Hubble Space Telescope Expansion Parallaxes of the Planetary Nebulae NGC 6578, NGC 6884, NGC 6891, and IC 2448
Stacy Palen, Bruce Balick, Arsen R. Hajian +3
We have combined two epochs of Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 imaging data with ground-based expansion velocities to determine distances to three planetary nebulae (NGC 6578, NGC 688…
The JWST/MIRI view of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 I.: a UV irradiated torus and a hot bubble triggering PAH formation
Mikako Matsuura, Kevin Volk, Patrick Kavanagh +34
NGC 6302 is a spectacular bipolar planetary nebula (PN) whose spectrum exhibits fast outflows and highly ionized emission lines, indicating the presence of a very hot central star…
Large-scale shock-ionized and photo-ionized gas in M83: the impact of star formation
Sungryong Hong, Daniela Calzetti, Michael A. Dopita +20
We investigate the ionization structure of the nebular gas in M83 using the line diagnostic diagram, [O III](5007 \degA)/Hβ vs. [S II](6716 °A+6731 °A)/Hα with the newly availa…
NGC 6302: The Tempestuous Life of a Butterfly
Bruce Balick, Lars Borchert, Joel H. Kastner +4
NGC 6302 (The ''Butterfly Nebula'') is an extremely energetic bipolar nebula whose central star is among the most massive, hottest, and presumably rapidly evolving of all central s…
Analysis of Co-spatial UV-optical STIS Spectra of Planetary Nebula NGC 3242
Timothy R. Miller, Richard B. C. Henry, Bruce Balick +4
This project sought to consider two important aspects of the planetary nebula NGC 3242 using new long-slit HST/STIS spectra. First, we investigated whether this object is chemicall…
Detection of brown dwarf-like objects in the core of NGC3603
Loredana Spezzi, Giacomo Beccari, Guido De Marchi +22
We use near-infrared data obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope to identify objects having the colors of brown dwarfs (BDs) in the field of the…
From Bipolar to Elliptical: Morphological Changes in the Temporal Evolution of PN
Martin Huarte Espinosa, Adam Frank, Bruce Balick +4
Proto-planetary nebulae (pPN) and planetary nebulae (PN) seem to be formed by interacting winds from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The observational issue that most pPN are…
Current Unsolved Problems in Planetary Nebulae Research
Sun Kwok, Bruce Balick, You-Hua Chu +5
While there has been significant progress in our understanding of the origin and evolu-tion of planetary nebulae in the last 50 years, there remain several unsolved problems. These…
Kinematic Structure of H2 and [Fe II] in the Bipolar Planetary Nebula M 2-9
Nathan Smith, Bruce Balick, Robert D. Gehrz
We present high-dispersion long-slit IR spectra of the double-shell bipolar planetary nebula M 2-9 in the emission lines [Fe II] 16435 and H2 v=1--0 S(1) 21218. H2 spectra reveal f…
Understanding Mass-Loss and the late Evolution of Intermediate Mass Stars: Jets, Disks, Binarity, Dust and Magnetic Fields
Raghvendra Sahai, Bruce Balick, Eric Blackman +7
Almost all stars in the 1-8 Msun range evolve through the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), preplanetary nebula (PPN) and planetary nebula (PN) evolutionary phases. Most stars that le…
Models of the Mass-Ejection Histories of pre Planetary Nebulae. II. The Formation of the Butterfly and its Proboscis in M2-9
Bruce Balick, Adam Frank, Baowei Liu +1
M2-9, or the "Butterfly Nebula" is one of the most iconic outflow sources from an evolved star. In this paper we present a hydrodynamic model of M2-9 in which the nebula is formed…