New Class of Cosmic Objects: Super Planetary Nebula

In spite of their names, planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. Their name comes from the fact that they resembled large exoplanets when viewed through earlier telescopes. They are, in fact, shells of gas and dust, expelled by stars about the size of our Sun when their life cycle ends. Now, astronomers believe they may have discovered their heavier counterparts, nebulas that form when massive stars die and which are also strong radio sources. The find was made by astronomers from Australia and the United States, in the Magellanic Clouds, the two galaxies that are found near the Milky Way, Space reports.

The experts used telescopes from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Australia Telescope National Facility for their observations, which marked the first time when a super planetary nebula was observed. These new objects could help astronomers resolve the long-standing “missing mass problem,” which refers to the absence of planetary nebulas around central stars, which may have been in their earlier days 1 to 8 times the mass of our Sun. The team focused its efforts on 15 radio objects previously observed by optical telescopes in the Magellanic Clouds.

Speaking about the amazing discovery, University of Western Sydney astronomer Miroslav Filipovic said, “This came as a shock to us, as no one expected to detect these object at radio wavelengths and with the present generation of radio telescopes.” The expert also added that the team was so puzzled at its finds that it did not publish any studies for three years, until they were absolutely convinced they were actually looking at planetary nebulas.

Details of their investigation now appear in the latest issue of the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The paper reveals that the newly found formations are up to 3 times larger than any of the planetary nebulas discovered thus far in the Milky Way. With the help of the Square Kilometre Array, scheduled to be built in the deserts of Western Australia, the experts hope to be able to get a better look at these structures in the future, and to determine more of their properties with a larger degree of accuracy.