Oral Presentation Astronomical Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting including HWWS 2013

Jets and planetary nebulae (#57)

Jan E Staff 1
  1. Macquarie University, NSW, Australia
Planetary nebulae marks the transition of some intermediate mass stars to a
white dwarf.  The outer envelopes of the star is ejected creating the
planetary nebula, while the core, which can no longer sustain fusion
processes, shrink and cool to a white dwarf.  Approximately 80% of all
planetary nebulae are not spherical, and many exhibit bipolar lobes and
jets.  The jets are sometimes bent, indicating that the disk launching them   
may be precessing.  Interestingly, jets in planetary nebulae share many
similarities with jets from young stellar objects.  I will show simulations
of jets from a precessing disk, and discuss what conditions can lead to
launching the observed jets.