IC 1266

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IC 1266
Nebula
Planetary nebula
IC 1266 DECaPS.jpg
IC 1266 imaged by Legacy Surveys
Observation data: J2000.0 epoch
Right ascension 17h 45m 35.29s
Declination −46° 05′ 23.7″
Distance12,400 [1]   ly
Constellation Ara
DesignationsIC 1266, Tc 1 [2]
See also: Lists of nebulae

IC 1266 (also known as Tc 1) is a planetary nebula located in the southern constellation of Ara. It is a compact emission nebula surrounding a dying star, appearing stellar due to its small angular size and faint gaseous spectrum. Discovered in 1894 by astronomer Williamina Fleming, IC 1266 lies approximately 12,400 light-years from Earth and is best observed from the Southern Hemisphere. [3] [4]

Observation and Characteristics

IC 1266 has an apparent visual magnitude of 11.2 and spans about 0.2 arcminutes in diameter, making it one of the smaller known planetary nebulae. [5] The central star is an O-type star HD 161044, it has a P Cygni type profile. [6]

Spectroscopic and other studies reveal low-excitation lines typical of young planetary nebulae, with abundances of elements and molecules are found like [7] the first fullerenes in space like C60 and C70 [8] [9] were discovered in this nebula in 2010 using the Spitzer Space Telescope. These molecules are therefore the largest found in space. [10]

References

  1. ↑ Stanghellini, Letizia; Shaw, Richard A.; Villaver, Eva (2008-12-10). "The Magellanic Cloud Calibration of the Galactic Planetary Nebula Distance Scale". The Astrophysical Journal. 689 (1): 194–202. arXiv: 0807.1129 . Bibcode:2008ApJ...689..194S. doi:10.1086/592395. ISSN   0004-637X.
  2. ↑ "IC 1266". simbad.cds.unistra.fr. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
  3. ↑ "IC 1266 - Planetary Nebula in Ara | TheSkyLive". theskylive.com. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
  4. ↑ "Index Catalog Objects: IC 1250 - 1299". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
  5. ↑ Ford, Dominic. "IC1266 (Planetary nebula)". In-The-Sky.org. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
  6. ↑ Feibelman, W. A. (November 1983). "IUE observations of the low-excitation planetary nebula Tc-1" . Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 95: 886. Bibcode:1983PASP...95..886F. doi:10.1086/131266. ISSN   0004-6280.
  7. ↑ Pottasch, S. R.; Surendiranath, R.; Bernard-Salas, J. (2011-07-01). "Abundances in planetary nebulae: NGC 1535, NGC 6629, He2-108, and Tc1". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 531: A23. arXiv: 1107.4041 . Bibcode:2011A&A...531A..23P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201116669. ISSN   0004-6361.
  8. ↑ Thakur, A.; Lohr, P. J.; Bernal, J. J.; Asaduzzaman, A.; Muralidharan, K.; Zega, T. J.; Ziurys, L. M. (2025-11-01). "A Theoretical Study of Carbon Nanotube Formation: Carriers of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands?". The Astrophysical Journal. 993 (1): 18. Bibcode:2025ApJ...993...18T. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae06a3 . ISSN   0004-637X.
  9. ↑ Aleman, Isabel; Leal-Ferreira, Marcelo L; Cami, Jan; Akras, Stavros; Ochsendorf, Bram; Wesson, Roger; Morisset, Christophe; Cox, Nick L J; Bernard-Salas, Jeronimo; Paladini, Carlos E; Peeters, Els; Stock, David J; Monteiro, Hektor; Tielens, Alexander G G M (2019-12-01). "Characterization of the planetary nebula Tc 1 based on VLT X-shooter observations". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 490 (2): 2475–2494. arXiv: 1909.09768 . doi: 10.1093/mnras/stz2654 . ISSN   0035-8711.
  10. ↑ Cami, Jan; Bernard-Salas, Jeronimo; Peeters, Els; Malek, Sarah Elizabeth (2010-09-03). "Detection of C 60 and C 70 in a Young Planetary Nebula" . Science. 329 (5996): 1180–1182. doi:10.1126/science.1192035. ISSN   0036-8075.
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