Related papers: Are planetary nebulae derived from multiple evolut…
Close-binary central stars of planetary nebulae offer a unique tool with which to study the critical and yet poorly understood common-envelope phase of binary stellar evolution. Furthermore, as the nebula itself is thought to comprise the…
Why 80% of planetary nebulae are not spherical is not yet understood. The Binary Hypothesis states that a companion to the progenitor of the central star of a planetary nebula is required to shape the nebula and even for a planetary nebula…
Binarity has been hypothesised to play an important, if not ubiquitous, role in the formation of planetary nebulae (PNe). Yet there remains a severe paucity of known binary central stars required to test the binary hypothesis and to place…
A review of recent observations of the kinematics of six objects that represent the broad range of phenomena called planetary nebulae (PNe) is presented. It is demonstrated that Hubble-type outflows are predominant, consequently it is…
Binary central stars have long been invoked to explain the vexing shapes of planetary nebulae (PNe) despite there being scant direct evidence to support this hypothesis. Modern large-scale surveys and improved observing strategies have…
Considerable effort has been applied towards understanding the precise shaping mechanisms responsible for the diverse range of morphologies exhibited by planetary nebulae (PNe). A binary companion is increasingly gaining support as a…
Our understanding of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe), has greatly improved in the last years thanks to unprecedented high resolution images taken from the HUBBLE, CHANDRA and XMM satellites. The discovery of complex but similar inner features,…
Planetary nebulae represent a potential late stage of stellar evolution, however the central stars (CSPNe) are relatively faint and therefore pertinent information is merely available for <20% of the Galactic sample. Consequently, the…
It is already known that about 10% of central stars of PNe are very short-period binaries (hours to days), which are detected through photometric variations. These must have been formed through common-envelope interactions in initially wide…
A historical perspective on the study of asymmetries in planetary nebulae (PNs) is presented. We also describe our ongoing work in high resolution spectroscopy of planetaries, and discuss some likely future directions for the study of…
There is no quantitative theory to explain why a high 80% of all planetary nebulae are non-spherical. The Binary Hypothesis states that a companion to the progenitor of a central star of planetary nebula is required to shape the nebula and…
Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are amongst the most spectacular objects produced by stellar evolution, but the exact identity of their progenitors has never been established for a large and homogeneous observational sample. We investigate the…
It is now clear that a binary pathway is responsible for a significant fraction of planetary nebulae, and the continually increasing sample of known central binaries means that we are now in a position to begin to use these systems to…
The brightest planetary nebulae achieve similar maximum luminosities, have similar ratios of chemcial abundances, and apparently share similar kinematics in all galaxies. These similarities, however, are not necessarily expected…
The measurement of chemical abundances in planetary nebulae in nearby galaxies is now relatively straightforward. The challenge is to use these chemical abundances to infer the chemical evolution of their host galaxies. At this point, our…
We review recent studies on the morphology and distribution with respect to the galactic plane of planetary nebulae (PNs), as well as recent advances in MHD modeling of PNs. We discuss a tentative explanation for the connection between…
In this review we address the progress that has been made toward the understanding the population of Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae since the last Magellanic Cloud Symposium. Planetary nebulae in the Clouds are not only important as key…
It is widely believed that central star binarity plays an important role in the formation and evolution of aspherical planetary nebulae, however observational support for this hypothesis is lacking. Here, we present the most recent results…
Planetary nebulae (PNe) are the only single stars in galaxies outside the Local Group that can be used as kinematic tracers of the diffuse light in the extended halo. Analysing their luminosity-specific number density across galaxies of…
The role of planetary nebulae as probes for the galactic chemical evolution is reviewed. Their abundances throughout the Galaxy are discussed for key elements, in particular oxygen and other alpha elements. The abundance distribution…