Planetary nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds and Local Group galaxies

Warren A. Reid

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperConference Paperpeer-review

    Abstract

    The Magellanic Clouds are close enough to the Milky Way to provide an excellent environment in which to study extragalactic PNe. Most of these PNe are bright enough to be spectroscopically observed and spatially resolved. With the latest high resolution detectors on today's large telescopes it is even possible to directly observe a large number of central stars. Magellanic Cloud (MC) PNe provide several astrophysical benefits including low overall extinction and a good sample size covering a large range of dynamic evolutionary timescales while the known distances provide a direct estimation of luminosity and physical dimensions. Multi-wavelength surveys are revealing intriguing differences between MC and Galactic PNe. Over the past 5 years there has been a substantial increase in the number of PNe discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in particular. Deep surveys have allowed the faint end of the luminosity function to be investigated, finally providing a strong clue to its overall shape. In so doing, the surveys are approaching completeness, estimated at ∼80% in the LMC (∼120 deg 2) and ∼65% in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) (∼20 deg 2). The number of galaxies comprising the Local Group (LG) and its outskirts has been growing steadily over the past 5 years and now numbers 48. Most of the 7 newly discovered galaxies are dwarf spheroidal (dSph) in structure and range from 7.6 to 755 kpc from the Milky Way. Nonetheless, there are no published searches for PNe in any of these galaxies to date. Apart from the LMC and Milky Way, the number of PN discoveries has been very modest and only one additional LG galaxy has been surveyed for PNe over the past 5 years. This paper provides the number of Local Group PNe currently known and estimates each galaxy's total PN population.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationPlanetary Nebulae: An Eye to the Future: Proceedings of the 283rd Symposium of the International Astronomical Union Held in the Perto de la Cruz in Tenerife, Spain, 25-29 July 2011
    PublisherCambridge University Press
    Pages227-234
    Number of pages8
    ISBN (Print)9781107019836
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012
    EventInternational Astronomical Union. Symposium -
    Duration: 20 Aug 2012 → …

    Publication series

    Name
    ISSN (Print)1743-9213

    Conference

    ConferenceInternational Astronomical Union. Symposium
    Period20/08/12 → …

    Keywords

    • Local Group (astronomy)
    • Magellanic Clouds
    • Milky Way
    • planetary nebulae
    • surveys

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