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Cometary knot

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238: 104:(AGB) phase and somehow managed to survive the AGB-PN transition, or if they were created when the star has already become a planetary nebula. The latter case would imply that the conditions in the planetary nebula host would have, at a certain point, triggered the formation of molecular clumps in its nebular envelope. Therefore, understanding the formation and evolution of cometary knots would not only give an insight into the physical properties of the planetary nebula host, but would also help draw a more detailed picture of the 20: 1068: 1088: 1002: 250: 1078: 262: 76:
At optical wavelengths, the knots are seen as "the ionized skin of a dense, dusty molecular globule" forming a crescent-shaped head that is ionized and illuminated by the central star, with a trailing spoke or tail. In molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide data, the tails of cometary knots are
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light emitted in the nebular envelope. Those on the far side do not obstruct this light source and so do not have this dark appearance. In addition, globules near the central star appear to have a distinct trailing tail, whereas those located farther do no exhibit such defined tails.
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Globules located far and close to the central star present different characteristics. On the near side of the Helix Nebula, the central dusty globule of each cometary knot appears dark against the background as it absorbs the
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Matsuura, M.; Speck, A. K.; McHunu, B. M.; Tanaka, I.; Wright, N. J.; Smith, M. D.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Viti, S.; Wesson, R. (2009-08-01). "A "firework" of H2Knots in the Planetary Nebula NGC 7293 (The Helix Nebula)".
226:, a planetary nebula with a close binary nucleus, suggests the presence of a "thick ring with radial filaments and knots." The cometary knots represent large density fluctuations in a slowly expanding toroid. 195:, and most of the incoming photons reach the ionization front and ionize fresh gas. In other flows, most photons fail to reach the ionization front, and instead balance recombinations in the flow. 57:(IC 4406). They are believed to be a common feature of the evolution of planetary nebulae, but can only be resolved in the nearest examples. They are generally larger than the size of the 77:
observed to be highly molecular. The central globule is at least 1000 times denser than the surrounding material that streams past it. The appearance is analogous to the tail of a
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Geoffrey C. Clayton; et al. (November 21, 2011). "The circumstellar environment of R Coronae Borealis: white dwarf merger of final-helium-shell flash?".
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Galaxies and Their Constituents at the Highest Angular Resolutions, Proceedings of IAU Symposium #205, Held 15–18 August 2000 at Manchester, United Kingdom
152:-dominated or dust-dominated. The distinction can be made in terms of the formula for the "dynamic ionization balance within a photoevaporation flow", F 100:
The origin of cometary knots in planetary nebulae is still unknown and subject to active research. It is unclear whether they were created during the
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Ma. T. García-Díaz; D. M. Clark; J. A. López; W. Steffen; M. G. Richer (June 24, 2009). "The outflows and three dimensional structure of NGC 6337".
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is the "ionizing photon flux incident on the outside of the flow", μ is the "initial velocity of the flow", α is the "recombination coefficient", n
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merger or final helium shell flash that periodically dims due to a build-up of carbon dust surrounding it, acting as a 'natural
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Huggins, Patrick J.; Forveille, Thierry; Bachiller, Rafael; Cox, Pierre; Ageorges, Nancy; Walsh, Jeremy R. (2002-07-01).
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flow, which is characteristically associated with planetary nebulae, but several other types of photoevaporation flows (
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Henney, W. J. (2001). R. T. Schilizzi (ed.). "Title: Classification of ionized photoevaporation flows".
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is the "peak ionized density in the flow", and h, which is approximately 0.1 r
66: 549: 145: 289: 180:, is the "effective thickness of the flow". In advection-dominated flows, 479: 223: 93: 85:, but comets are solid bodies and much smaller in overall size and mass. 121: 379: 753: 33:
also referred as globules, are structures observed in several nearby
211:, which is a peculiar star described as potentially the result of a 489: 458: 370: 696: 651: 568:
Meaburn, J.; Clayton, C. A.; Bryce, M. & Walsh, J. R. (1996).
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Molecular Line Imaging of a Cometary Globule in the Helix Nebula"
299: 82: 726: 73:. There are about 40,000 cometary knots in the Helix Nebula. 203:
Several structures have been described as cometary knots or
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would be more like those of our solar system planets (
1045: 999: 983: 962: 924: 891: 860: 827: 760: 574:Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 288:Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (13 April 2008). 342:O'dell, C. R.; Handron, Kerry D. (April 1996). 148:-dominated than the other varieties, which are 738: 8: 325:Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica 290:"Curious Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula" 65:), with masses of around 0.00001 times the 1001: 745: 731: 723: 695: 650: 593: 563: 561: 559: 523: 488: 478: 378: 69:, which is comparable to the mass of the 144:. Cometary knots are described as more 112:Relation to other photoevaporation flows 434:) than of our largest observed comets ( 311: 309: 277: 233: 116:Cometary knots are one type of ionized 283: 281: 7: 1077: 504: 502: 500: 452: 450: 344:"Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula" 108:of low to intermediate mass stars. 16:Structure in some planetary nebulae 14: 316:C.R. O'Dell; et al. (2003). 1086: 1076: 1067: 1066: 1000: 260: 248: 236: 222:Three-dimensional modelling of 199:Reports in more distant objects 385:Their masses of about 10  1: 714:10.1088/0004-637X/699/2/1633 542:10.1088/0004-637X/700/2/1067 318:"Knots in planetary nebulae" 295:Astronomy Picture of the Day 255:Knots in the Dumbbell Nebula 847:Evaporating gaseous globule 1135: 669:10.1088/0004-637X/743/1/44 1061: 684:The Astrophysical Journal 512:The Astrophysical Journal 467:The Astrophysical Journal 459:"High-Resolution CO and H 81:that faces away from its 595:10.1093/mnras/281.3.l57 102:Asymptotic Giant Branch 883:Integrated Flux Nebula 27: 23:Cometary knots in the 873:Protoplanetary nebula 837:Giant molecular cloud 815:Protoplanetary nebula 639:Astrophysical Journal 37:(PNe), including the 22: 893:Post-stellar nebulae 351:Astronomical Journal 53:(NGC 2392), and the 984:Intergalactic blobs 949:High-velocity cloud 829:Pre-stellar nebulae 706:2009ApJ...699.1633G 661:2011ApJ...743...44C 623:2001IAUS..205..272H 586:1996MNRAS.281L..57M 534:2009ApJ...700.1067M 363:1996AJ....111.1630O 61:(i.e. the orbit of 1036:Supernova remnants 932:Interstellar cloud 911:Pulsar wind nebula 209:R Coronae Borealis 28: 1119:Stellar astronomy 1114:Planetary nebulae 1101: 1100: 906:Supernova remnant 878:Wolf–Rayet nebula 805:Reflection nebula 788:Supernova remnant 205:cometary globules 136:) are known from 126:cometary globules 106:stellar evolution 35:planetary nebulae 1126: 1090: 1080: 1079: 1070: 1069: 1004: 1003: 991:Lyman-alpha blob 901:Planetary nebula 783:Planetary nebula 747: 740: 733: 724: 718: 717: 699: 690:(2): 1633–1638. 679: 673: 672: 654: 634: 628: 626: 606: 600: 599: 597: 565: 554: 553: 527: 518:(2): 1067–1077. 506: 495: 494: 492: 482: 480:astro-ph/0205516 454: 445: 444: 441: 439: 433: 425: 412: 404: 382: 348: 339: 333: 332: 322: 313: 304: 303: 285: 264: 252: 240: 187:is greater than 118:photoevaporation 49:(NGC 6853), the 45:(NGC 6720), the 41:(NGC 7293), the 1134: 1133: 1129: 1128: 1127: 1125: 1124: 1123: 1104: 1103: 1102: 1097: 1096: 1057: 1041: 1019:Largest Nebulae 995: 979: 975:Pinwheel nebula 958: 942:Infrared cirrus 937:Molecular cloud 920: 887: 856: 823: 810:Variable nebula 778:Emission nebula 756: 751: 721: 681: 680: 676: 636: 635: 631: 608: 607: 603: 567: 566: 557: 508: 507: 498: 462: 456: 455: 448: 437: 435: 432: 423: 421: 419: 416: 411: 402: 400: 398: 395: 391: 388: 346: 341: 340: 336: 320: 315: 314: 307: 287: 286: 279: 275: 268: 265: 256: 253: 244: 241: 232: 201: 192: 185: 179: 175: 171: 165: 161: 155: 134:champagne flows 130:elephant trunks 114: 67:mass of the Sun 47:Dumbbell Nebula 31:Cometary knots, 17: 12: 11: 5: 1132: 1130: 1122: 1121: 1116: 1106: 1105: 1099: 1098: 1095: 1094: 1084: 1074: 1063: 1062: 1059: 1058: 1056: 1055: 1049: 1047: 1043: 1042: 1040: 1039: 1033: 1030:Protoplanetary 1027: 1021: 1016: 1010: 1008: 997: 996: 994: 993: 987: 985: 981: 980: 978: 977: 972: 970:Bipolar nebula 966: 964: 960: 959: 957: 956: 951: 946: 945: 944: 939: 928: 926: 922: 921: 919: 918: 913: 908: 903: 897: 895: 889: 888: 886: 885: 880: 875: 870: 864: 862: 861:Stellar nebula 858: 857: 855: 854: 849: 844: 839: 833: 831: 825: 824: 822: 821: 820: 819: 818: 817: 812: 802: 801: 800: 795: 790: 785: 773:Diffuse nebula 770: 764: 762: 761:Visible nebula 758: 757: 752: 750: 749: 742: 735: 727: 720: 719: 674: 629: 601: 580:(3): L57–L61. 555: 496: 490:10.1086/342021 473:(1): L55–L58. 460: 446: 430: 417: 414: 409: 396: 393: 389: 386: 371:10.1086/117902 334: 305: 276: 274: 271: 270: 269: 266: 259: 257: 254: 247: 245: 242: 235: 231: 228: 207:that surround 200: 197: 190: 183: 177: 173: 169: 163: 159: 153: 113: 110: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1131: 1120: 1117: 1115: 1112: 1111: 1109: 1093: 1089: 1085: 1083: 1075: 1073: 1065: 1064: 1060: 1054: 1053:Cometary knot 1051: 1050: 1048: 1044: 1037: 1034: 1031: 1028: 1025: 1022: 1020: 1017: 1015: 1012: 1011: 1009: 1007: 998: 992: 989: 988: 986: 982: 976: 973: 971: 968: 967: 965: 961: 955: 952: 950: 947: 943: 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127: 123: 119: 111: 109: 107: 103: 98: 95: 91: 86: 84: 80: 74: 72: 68: 64: 60: 56: 55:Retina Nebula 52: 51:Eskimo Nebula 48: 44: 40: 36: 32: 26: 21: 1052: 868:Nova remnant 852:Solar nebula 793:Nova remnant 687: 683: 677: 642: 638: 632: 614: 610: 604: 577: 573: 515: 511: 470: 466: 427: 406: 384: 354: 350: 337: 328: 324: 293: 221: 202: 188: 181: 157: 142:Orion Nebula 140:such as the 138:H II regions 115: 99: 87: 75: 59:Solar System 39:Helix Nebula 30: 29: 25:Helix Nebula 842:Bok globule 798:H II region 768:Dark nebula 440:10 gms 243:Ring Nebula 217:coronograph 213:white dwarf 43:Ring Nebula 1108:Categories 1092:Wiktionary 963:Morphology 954:H I region 916:Supershell 380:1911/17047 273:References 1024:Planetary 697:0905.1166 652:1110.3235 645:(1): 44. 617:: 272–3. 550:0004-637X 525:0906.2870 168:. Here F 146:advection 1072:Category 431:☉ 426:10  410:☉ 405:10  390:☉ 357:: 1630. 331:: 29–33. 224:NGC 6337 122:proplyds 94:Angstrom 1082:Commons 1046:Related 1014:Diffuse 754:Nebulae 702:Bibcode 657:Bibcode 619:Bibcode 582:Bibcode 530:Bibcode 359:Bibcode 230:Gallery 1038:(SNRs) 1032:(PPNe) 925:Clouds 548:  132:, and 1026:(PNe) 1006:Lists 692:arXiv 647:arXiv 520:arXiv 475:arXiv 347:(PDF) 321:(PDF) 92:5007 79:comet 71:Earth 63:Pluto 546:ISSN 300:NASA 162:+ αn 83:star 710:doi 688:699 665:doi 643:743 615:205 590:doi 578:281 538:doi 516:700 485:doi 471:573 422:9.6 375:hdl 367:doi 355:111 219:'. 1110:: 708:. 700:. 686:. 663:. 655:. 641:. 613:. 588:. 576:. 572:. 558:^ 544:. 536:. 528:. 514:. 499:^ 483:. 469:. 465:. 449:^ 442:). 436:10 420:= 413:, 399:= 383:. 373:. 365:. 353:. 349:. 329:15 327:. 323:. 308:^ 298:. 292:. 280:^ 189:αn 182:μn 158:μn 156:≈ 128:, 124:, 746:e 739:t 732:v 716:. 712:: 704:: 694:: 671:. 667:: 659:: 649:: 627:. 625:. 621:: 598:. 592:: 584:: 552:. 540:: 532:: 522:: 493:. 487:: 477:: 461:2 438:× 428:M 424:× 418:J 415:M 407:M 403:× 401:3 397:E 394:M 387:M 377:: 369:: 361:: 302:. 193:h 191:0 184:0 178:0 174:0 170:* 166:h 164:0 160:0 154:*

Index


Helix Nebula
planetary nebulae
Helix Nebula
Ring Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula
Eskimo Nebula
Retina Nebula
Solar System
Pluto
mass of the Sun
Earth
comet
star

Angstrom
Asymptotic Giant Branch
stellar evolution
photoevaporation
proplyds
cometary globules
elephant trunks
champagne flows
H II regions
Orion Nebula
advection
recombination
cometary globules
R Coronae Borealis
white dwarf

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