Challenges faced by current Galactic planetary nebula surveys

Determining the demographics of the Galactic planetary nebula (PN) population is an important goal to further our understanding of this intriguing phase of stellar evolution. The Galactic population has more than doubled in number over the last 15 years, particularly from narrowband Hα surveys along the plane. In this review I will summarise these results, with emphasis on the time interval since the last IAU Symposium. These primarily optical surveys are not without their limitations and new surveys for PNe in the infrared similarly face a number of challenges. I will discuss the need for multi-wavelength approaches to discovery and analysis. The desire to have accurate volume-limited samples of Galactic PNe at our disposal is emphasised, which will be impacted with new data from the Gaia satellite mission. We need robust surveys of PNe and their central stars, especially volume-limited surveys, in order to clarify and quantify their evolutionary pathways.

The past, present and future of Galactic planetary nebula surveys

Over the last decade Galactic planetary nebula discoveries have entered a golden age due to the emergence of high sensitivity, high resolution narrow-band surveys of the Galactic plane. These have been coupled with access to complimentary, deep, multi-wavelength surveys across near-IR, mid-IR and radio regimes in particular from both ground-based and space-based telescopes. These have provided powerful diagnostic and discovery capabilities. In this review these advances are put in the context of what has gone before, what we are uncovering now and through the window of opportunity that awaits in the future. The astrophysical potential of this brief but key phase of late stage stellar evolution is finally being realised.

Searching for Faint Planetary Nebulae Using the Digital Sky Survey

Recent Hα surveys such as SHS and IPHAS have improved the completeness of the Galactic planetary nebula (PN) census. We now know of ∼3000 PNe in the Galaxy, but this is far short of most estimates, typically ~25 000 or more for the total population. The size of the Galactic PN population is required to derive an accurate estimate of the chemical enrichment rates of nitrogen, carbon, and helium. In addition, a high PN count (>20 000) is strong evidence that most main-sequence stars of mass 1–8 M⊙ will go through a PN phase, while a low count (<10 000) argues that special conditions (e.g. close binary interactions) are required to form a PN. We describe a technique for finding hundreds more PNe using the existing data collections of the digital sky surveys, thereby improving the census of Galactic PNe.

A Detailed Study of the Galactic Planetary Nebula G 258-15.7

The galactic Planetary Nebula G 258-15.7 is a large, bright nebula well suited for a detailed study. Known since Wray (1966), its morphology presents several blobs and ansae, generally associated with type I nebulae, and could be described as “late-butterfly” type according to the classification by Balick (1989). The central star has been classified as hydrogen-deficient by Mendez et al. (1985). Spectroscopy of the two main blobs shows a clear overabundance in He and N, with a marginally significant difference between the two sides. The most striking feature is the jet-like structure appearing on the [OIII]/Halpha picture (Fig. 1), the “jets” being located within the main blobs seen on the monochromatic images. A detailed appraisal of all the data will be presented in a subsequent paper.