Open AccessDetecting planets in planetary nebulae
Author(s) -
Soker Noam
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02568.x
Subject(s) - physics , uranus , planet , neptune , planetary nebula , astronomy , astrophysics , nebula , emission nebula , stars , planetary system , astrobiology
We examine the possibility of detecting signatures of surviving Uranus/Neptune‐like planets inside planetary nebulae. Planets that are not too close to the stars (orbital separation larger than ∼5 au) are likely to survive the entire evolution of the star. As the star turns into a planetary nebula, it has a fast wind and strong ionizing radiation. The interaction of the radiation and wind with a planet may lead to the formation of a compact condensation or tail inside the planetary nebula, which emits strongly in H α , but not in [O iii ]. The position of the condensation (or tail) will change over a time‐scale of ∼10 yr. Such condensations might be detected with currently existing telescopes.