Mz 1

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Menzel 1
Observation data
(Epoch J2000)
Right ascension 15h 34m 17.002s[1]
Declination -59° 09′ 09.05″[1]
Distance 3,400 ± 500 ly (1,050 ± 150 pc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 12.0[3]
Apparent dimensions (V) 76″[2] × 23″[3]
Constellation Norma
Physical characteristics
Radius 0.63 ± 0.09 ly[a]
Absolute magnitude (V) 1.9 ± 0.3[b]
Other designations ESO 135-11[1]
See also: Planetary nebula, Lists of nebulae

Mz 1 (Menzel 1), also known as the Crab Nebula[citation needed] is a bipolar planetary nebula (PN) in the constellation Norma.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

Menzel 1 is a bright PN that has a prominent central ring of enhanced emission. One model of its structure is a 3 dimensional hour-glass shape with a smoothly decreasing density starting from the waist or equator as measured outwardly to the poles. It is radially expanding at a rate of about 23 km/s and estimated to be around 4,500 to 10,000 years old and has its polar axis oriented at an angle of around 40° from the plane of the sky. Its central star is estimated to have a mass of 0.63 ± 0.05 M⊙. In 1992 Schwarz, Corradi, & Melnick published narrow band images of Mz 1 in Hα and [OIII]. H2 emission was observed in Mz 1 by Webster, Payne, Storey, Dopita (1988). However, despite its relative brightness, Mz 1 has only been studied in a few papers. (Monteiro et al. 2005)

[edit] History

Mz 1 was discovered by Donald Howard Menzel in 1922. (Menzel 1922)

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ 3,400 ± 500[2] ly distance × sin( 76″[2] diameter_angle / 2 ) = 0.63 ± 0.09 ly. radius
  2. ^ 12.0[3] apparent magnitude - 5 * (log10(1,050 ± 150[2] pc distance) - 1) = 1.9 ± 0.3 absolute magnitude
  1. ^ a b c SIMBAD 2007
  2. ^ a b c d e Monteiro et al. 2005
  3. ^ a b c Gottlieb & Wallace 2005

[edit] References