The Discovery of Infrared Rings in the Planetary Nebula NGC 1514 During the WISE All-Sky Survey

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of infrared rings in the planetary nebula NGC 1514 using WISE data, revealing dust structures not visible at other wavelengths and proposing a formation scenario.

Contribution

First detection of infrared rings in NGC 1514, providing new insights into nebular dust structures and their formation mechanisms.

Findings

Infrared rings are about 0.2 pc in diameter.

Rings are dominated by dust emission at 160 K.

Comparison with other wavelengths suggests a unique formation scenario.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a pair of infrared, axisymmetric rings in the planetary nebula NGC 1514 during the course of the WISE all-sky mid-infrared survey. Similar structures are seen at visible wavelengths in objects such as the "Engraved Hourglass Nebula" (MyCn 18) and the "Southern Crab Nebula" (Hen 2-104). However, in NGC 1514 we see only a single pair of rings and they are easily observed only in the mid-infrared. These rings are roughly 0.2 pc in diameter, are separated by 0.05 pc, and are dominated by dust emission with a characteristic temperature of 160 K. We compare the morphology and color of the rings to the other nebular structures seen at visible, far-infrared, and radio wavelengths, and close with a discussion of a physical model and formation scenario for NGC 1514.