Abstract. Radial abundance gradients are a common feature of spiral galaxies, and in the case of the Galaxy both the magnitude of the gradients and their variations are among the most important constraints of chemical evolution models. Planetary nebulae (PN) are particularly interesting objects to study the gradients and their variations. Owing to their bright emission spectra, they can be observed even at large galactocentric distances, and the derived abundances are relatively accurate, with uncertainties of about 0.1 to 0.2 dex, particularly for the elements that are not synthesized in their progenitor stars. On the other hand, as the offspring of intermediate mass stars, with main sequence masses in the interval of 1 to 8 solar masses, they are representative of objects with a reasonable age span. In this paper, we present an estimate of the time variation of the O/H radial gradient in a sample containing over 200 nebulae with accurate abundances. Our results are consistent with a flattening of the O/H gradient roughly from −0.11 dex/kpc to −0.06 dex/kpc during the last 9 Gyr, or from −0.08 dex/kpc to −0.06 dex/kpc during the last 5 Gyr.

Abstract. In this paper we report new observations and derive chemical abundances for a sample of 26 planetary nebulae (PN) located in the anticenter direction. Most of these nebulae are far away objects, located at Galactocentric distances greater than about 8 kpc, so that they are particularly useful for the determination of the radial gradients at large distances from the galactic center. A comparison of the present results with previously determined abundances suggests that the radial abundance gradients flatten out at distances larger than about 10 kpc from the center.

Abstract. In this paper we report new observations and derive chemical abundances for a sample of 26 planetary nebulae (PN) located in the anticenter direction. Most of these nebulae are far away objects, located at Galactocentric distances greater than about 8 kpc, so that they are particularly useful for the determination of the radial gradients at large distances from the galactic center. A comparison of the present results with previously determined abundances suggests that the radial abundance gradients flatten out at distances larger than about 10 kpc from the center.