Revealing planetary nebulae in narrow bands: a homogeneous H α imaging catalogue for morphological studies
- 1Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba , Laprida 854, X5000BGR Córdoba ,
- 2Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) , Avda. Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, CABA ,
Abstract
Planetary nebulae (PNe) display a remarkable diversity of morphologies that offer insights into the physical processes acting during the final stages of stellar evolution. Despite the large number of Galactic PNe currently catalogued, a substantial fraction remains poorly characterized due to heterogeneous imaging of variable depth and angular resolution. We present a homogeneous H α narrow-band imaging catalogue of 86 Galactic PNe observed with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs on the 8.1 m Gemini North and South telescopes, applying a consistent morphological classification framework to a predominantly poorly studied sample. Images were acquired through multiple Gemini programmes between 2020 and 2024. The classification scheme provides primary morphological classes alongside an extensive set of secondary structural descriptors, based solely on H α emission geometry without physical interpretation. The sample spans six primary classes; elliptical and round morphologies are the most frequent (∼38 per cent and ∼23 per cent, respectively), while bipolar and irregular structures account for ∼19 per cent and ∼14 per cent. A wide variety of secondary features – including haloes, equatorial tori, ansae, barrel-shaped central regions, and point-symmetric configurations – were identified, revealing structural complexity previously overlooked in shallower surveys. Systematic discrepancies with classifications in the HASH database were found, attributable to the greater depth and homogeneity of the present data set. The catalogue provides a uniform descriptive reference for a predominantly underexplored sample of Galactic PNe and establishes a foundation for future spectroscopic and kinematic studies of structurally interesting objects.
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BibTeX
@article{pignata2026revealing,
title = {{Revealing planetary nebulae in narrow bands: a homogeneous H α imaging catalogue for morphological studies}},
author = {R A Pignata and W Weidmann and D Mast},
journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag1980},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1980/8943805},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Revealing planetary nebulae in narrow bands: a homogeneous H α imaging catalogue for morphological studies
AU - R A Pignata
AU - W Weidmann
AU - D Mast
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stag1980
UR - https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1980/8943805
AB - Planetary nebulae (PNe) display a remarkable diversity of morphologies that offer insights into the physical processes acting during the final stages of stellar evolution. Despite the large number of Galactic PNe currently catalogued, a substantial fraction remains poorly characterized due to heterogeneous imaging of variable depth and angular resolution. We present a homogeneous H α narrow-band imaging catalogue of 86 Galactic PNe observed with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs on the 8.1 m Gemini North and South telescopes, applying a consistent morphological classification framework to a predominantly poorly studied sample. Images were acquired through multiple Gemini programmes between 2020 and 2024. The classification scheme provides primary morphological classes alongside an extensive set of secondary structural descriptors, based solely on H α emission geometry without physical interpretation. The sample spans six primary classes; elliptical and round morphologies are the most frequent (∼38 per cent and ∼23 per cent, respectively), while bipolar and irregular structures account for ∼19 per cent and ∼14 per cent. A wide variety of secondary features – including haloes, equatorial tori, ansae, barrel-shaped central regions, and point-symmetric configurations – were identified, revealing structural complexity previously overlooked in shallower surveys. Systematic discrepancies with classifications in the HASH database were found, attributable to the greater depth and homogeneity of the present data set. The catalogue provides a uniform descriptive reference for a predominantly underexplored sample of Galactic PNe and establishes a foundation for future spectroscopic and kinematic studies of structurally interesting objects.
SN - 0035-8711
SN - 1365-2966
ER -