{
  "abstract": "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbonaceous dust have been observed in Oxygen-rich planetary nebulae (PNe), yet their formation and evolution in these environments is an open question. We aim to study the formation and evolution of the PAHs in the O-rich PN NGC 6302 (the Butterfly Nebula), by characterizing the PAH emission throughout this object. We obtained JWST MIRI IFU spectroscopic observations of NGC 6302 pointed at its central source. From these, we extract four template spectra that are representative of the variation in PAH emission throughout NGC 6302. We detect the major PAH features at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.2, and 12.7 μm, and several minor PAH features. The template spectra vary in terms of their PAH feature widths, peak wavelengths, and relative intensities. The 11.2 μm PAH feature is class B, typical for PNe. The 6–9 μm PAH features are class A, which is less common for PNe. We estimate the PAH charge to be 75% cations on average, based on the 7.7/11.2 PAH feature ratio. The relative strengths of the 11–15 μm PAH features indicate a range of PAH edge structures. To ensure consistency in our observations and explain variable PAH feature widths, we propose a variation in the size of the PAHs throughout NGC 6302, and suggest variation in the shielding of these PAHs. The PAHs range from large and non-compact, to small and compact. We find that NGC 6302 formed PAHs in-situ in the current PN phase, likely from small hydrocarbons formed by the photodissociation of CO.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Western Ontario Department of Physics and Astronomy, , London, Ontario ,",
    "Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario ,",
    "Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research and Technology (CHART), School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University , The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA ,",
    "University of Maryland Department of Astronomy, ,",
    "Maynooth University Department of Physics, , Maynooth, County Kildare ,",
    "University College London Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT ,",
    "Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester NY 14623 ,",
    "School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester NY 14623 ,",
    "Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester NY 14623 ,",
    "Institute for Scientific Research , Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 ,",
    "Instituto de Física e Química, Universidade Federal de Itajubá , Av. BPS 1303, 37500-903 Itajubá, MG ,",
    "Jet Propulsion Laboratory , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 ,",
    "Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 ,",
    "University of North Carolina Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 ,",
    "University of West Georgia , 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118 ,",
    "European Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching ,",
    "Radboud University Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, , PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen ,",
    "SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research , Niels Bohrweg 4, 2333 CA Leiden ,",
    "Astrophysics Research Centre, Keele University , Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 5BG ,",
    "Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica , Rua dos Estados Unidos 154, Bairro das Nações, Itajubá, MG 37504-365 ,",
    "University of Washington Department of Astronomy, , Seattle, WA 98195-1580 ,",
    "ACRI-ST, Centre dÉtudes et de Recherche de Grasse (CERGA) , 10 Av. Nicolas Copernic, 06130 Grasse ,",
    "INCLASS Common Laboratory , 10 Av. Nicolas Copernic, 06130 Grasse ,",
    "Vrije Universiteit Brussel Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Group, Department of Physics and Astrophysics, , Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels ,",
    "University of Texas at Austin Department of Astronomy, , Austin, TX 78712 ,",
    "Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics , 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106319, Taiwan ,",
    "UK Astronomy Technology Centre , Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ ,",
    "Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (ICE, CSIC) , Can Magrans, s/n, E-08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona ,",
    "ICREA , Pg. Lluís Companys 23, E-08010 Barcelona ,",
    "Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , E-08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona ,",
    "Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur , CNRS, Lagrange, 96 Bd de l’Observatoire, 06300 Nice ,",
    "Royal Observatory of Belgium , Ringlaan 3, B-1180 Brussels ,",
    "Maynooth University Department of Physics, , Maynooth, Co. Kildare ,",
    "The University of Manchester Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics, and Astronomy, , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL ,",
    "School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University , Sydney, NSW 2109 ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 32,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nicholas Clark"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Els Peeters",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2541-1602"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jan Cami",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2666-9234"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mikako Matsuura",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5529-5593"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Alexander G G M Tielens"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Patrick J Kavanagh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Michael J Barlow",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3875-1171"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Joel Kastner"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Kathleen E Kraemer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Hektor Monteiro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Raghvendra Sahai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12,
        13
      ],
      "name": "G C Sloan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        14
      ],
      "name": "N C Sterling"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Jeremy R Walsh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16,
        17
      ],
      "name": "L B F M Waters"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        18
      ],
      "name": "Nicholas J Wright",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8389-8711"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        19
      ],
      "name": "Isabel Aleman"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        20
      ],
      "name": "Bruce Balick"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        21,
        22
      ],
      "name": "Jeronimo Bernard-Salas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Charmi Bhatt"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        23
      ],
      "name": "Joris Blommaert"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        24
      ],
      "name": "Harriet L Dinerstein"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        25
      ],
      "name": "Naomi Hirano"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        26
      ],
      "name": "Olivia Jones",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4870-5547"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        27,
        28,
        29
      ],
      "name": "Francisca Kemper",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2743-8240"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        30
      ],
      "name": "Eric Lagadec"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Paula Moraga Baez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        27
      ],
      "name": "Maryam Torki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        31
      ],
      "name": "Peter A M van Hoof"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Volk"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        5,
        32
      ],
      "name": "Roger Wesson",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4000-4394"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        33,
        34
      ],
      "name": "Albert Zijlstra",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3171-5469"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emnxc23chy9f5.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/mnras/stag1992",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "emnxc23chy9f5",
  "issns": [
    "0035-8711",
    "1365-2966"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1992/8965446",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223157916",
  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1992/72259387/stag1992.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emnxc23chy9f5.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.1093/mnras/stag1992",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1992/8965446"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 IV: PAH spectral characteristics, formation and evolution",
  "title_text": "JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 IV: PAH spectral characteristics, formation and evolution",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emnxc23chy9f5",
  "venue": "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
  "versions": []
}