Dust distribution in planetary nebulae

Abstract

ABSTRACT Planetary nebulae (PNe) have long been known to consist of gas, molecules, and dust. The vast majority of the work in which properties of the dust of these objects are inferred were carried out through infrared observations. We use a technique that gives information about the dust, without nebular contamination, and regardless of its temperature. The primary objective is to present an atlas of images with the distribution of dust extinction in PNe. We obtained images in narrow-band filter centred on the nebular emission of the Balmer lines H α and H β to derive extinction images. By combining these images we have been able to achieve the distribution of dust in PNe. The atlas contains 29 PNe, representing the most comprehensive and extensive surveys of dust distribution in PNe.